SONG OF THE FOURTEENTH
by ChikitaWolf
Summary: That awkward moment when two injured exorcists and a CROW collapse on your doorstep, bleeding all over your floor. Yeup, just another day in the life of Kira Malcolm; that is, until she finds herself and her cat dragged into their Holy War. Oops. (-Eventual- Allen x OC). (Rewritten version of the original 60 chaptered SOTF). R&R !
1. Chapter 1

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

Original FanFiction started on May 3rd, 2010 | Rewriting started on March 7th, 2013

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. If you would like proof that I am the true author of SOTF, feel free to note me._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own. _

* * *

[ Chapter 1 ]

_What the Storm Dragged In_

"Calm? Calm after a storm? There's nothing calm about the mess a storm leaves behind. More like cleaning up to do. Lots and lots of cleaning up!"

* * *

An explosion rocked the earth, sending light and shadows dancing across the wheat field. A tall, red-headed figure joined the dance, flitting through the slippery, wet stalks of wheat, bloodied hands gripping onto a freakishly large mallet. Suddenly, a bulbous shape burst forth from the grain, cannons haphazardly placed around its body. A metallic screech left the machine, and it aimed its weapons. The stranger immediately skidded to a halt, sending up a wave of mud as he did so. Without a moment's hesitation, he let out a mighty yell through the pouring rain and roaring thunder and brought down the mallet in his grip.

Flames erupted from the wheat field, collecting to the center of the mallet's impact with the sodden ground and writhing upwards into the shape of a magnificent snake. Its ascent into the sky shed light all about it, revealing a mass of monsters above the crop.

The red-headed figure stumbled back as he twirled his mallet, urging his huge, flaming serpent to consume as many of his enemies as possible. However, the rain and his fatigue quickly took its toll. No sooner had he gotten rid of five of the damned machines above his head, his creation let out one last hiss and sizzled out of existence.

"How many more of those can you manage, Lavi?"

The addressed red-head whirled around, nerves on edge, only to lower his mallet as his one visible emerald green eye caught sight of who had spoken. A figure of glowing white had come up behind him, chasing the night and its shadows away with its presence. At first glance, he mistook it as something akin to an angel. However, upon closer inspection, the once-brilliant and billowing cape about the other person's shoulders was torn, blood and dirt-stained, and soaked, sticking to the frail body it graced. A sinister, black claw also marred the formerly angelic look, growing forth from the fellow's left arm, fingers like knives.

Lavi felt his gut plummet at the sight of that claw. At a time like this, they needed the boy's Sword of Salvation, not his Edge End[1]. Swallowing his rising dread, the red-head replied, "Depends, 'Sprout. How many Akuma are left?"

The boy let out an indignant sound at the hated nickname, but didn't get the chance to respond immediately. Due to Lavi's recent attack, the wheat around them had been near incinerated, leaving them out in the open to the Akuma hunting them. Said Akuma wasted no time in unleashing a volley of poisonous bullets upon their prey, and the younger of the two teens summoned his Crown Clown's cloak to plume out and shield himself and his hammer-wielding companion. Lightning shattered the sky as the attacks made impact, but the fellow's shield held strong.

"It's Allen!" he finally managed to snap before answering Lavi. "And it looks like-" the white-haired boy paused, looking up at the chaos above with his cursed eye. Lavi watched with untiring interest as his companion's one gray eye narrowed and one cursed eye refocused on the sky. A glittering, golden gear spun in the air half an itch from the boy's left eye, joined by a smaller gear near the top, which sometimes circled the bigger gear. Behind the almost glass-like front of the gears was nothing more than darkness accentuated by three bloody red rings, which acted as his pupil. The moment the eye was called upon to focus, sparks appeared across the glass before it, targeting Akuma.

"Thirteen Level Ones," Allen stated, his cloak whipping out from the sky and back behind him as the wind of the storm picked up. A particularly bright spark of lightning burst out across the storm clouds, once again lighting up their enemies through the rain as thunder followed it, shaking the earth beneath their feet. "The last Level Two and four Level Ones were defeated by your earlier Hi Ban[2]."

A flash of gold caught Lavi's eye, but the eldest teen ignored it, knowing it was just Allen's stalker. That man wasn't an exorcist, so it was good that he was keeping out of the way, aside from a few CROW moves to save their asses every once in a while.

"Maahh, thirteen's an unlucky number, Allen-chan[3][4]," cooed Lavi in reference to the boy's count. A grin split across his grime-covered face as his companion let out an indignant squeak at the "-chan" bit. "We need to fix this!" the red-head shouted, happily spinning his hammer about and preparing to bring it to the earth once again.

As another wave of poisonous bullets joined the rain of the storm, Allen begrudgingly swallowed his agitation towards Lavi's nicknames and turned to the dark mass of clouds and Akuma alike, raising his claw and summoning Crown Clown to cover him, the intricate, clownish masquerade mask gracing his young face as the cape lifted him into the air and chaos.

"HI BAN!"

"CROWN EDGE[5]!"

A mile away from the exorcists' plight, a modest farmhouse stood alone upon a hill, creaking as the storm attacked its structure. Warm, yellow light filtered through two of its windows, revealing life within the home. Through the first window, located on the first floor, could be seen a dining room, an old man seated at the table. He seemed oblivious to the storm threatening his home, reading his newspaper with a warm cup of tea in his wrinkled hand. His only acknowledgement of Nature's fury was to keep away from the window.

However, unlike the old man, the second lit window, which was located on the second floor (basically, the attic), revealed a braver, or perhaps more foolish, occupant. A young girl sat behind this second window, her sky blue eyes observing the storm that shook everything around her. She was small, in her teenage years, and her black-blotched, Indian-colored skin was hidden shamefully beneath the covering of a black cloak. Lightning flashed from the thick mass of black clouds in the sky, chasing the shadows from her hood away from her sad young face - turning her dark skin ghostly white and her messy, dark brown hair silver. Thunder soon followed the flash, shaking the house almost as violently as the wind that roared just on the other side of the thin glass of the window. Storage boxes fell from haphazardly placed piles in the corner of the attic, along with the single light in her room, a lantern, which promptly fell and shattered, adding to the chaos of noise, light, and shaking.

The girl, who sat unafraid as she observed the dangerous thunderstorm continue its performance, was merely fourteen. Well, fourteen and a half, she'd tell you. She lived with her only family left, her grandfather, who was neither rich nor poor, in the attic of his modest country home somewhere in the farmlands of a certain 19th century England. She was, as gossiped frequently by the townspeople a mile or two away, cursed with ugly black patches of skin that marred her body.

Her name was Kira, Kira Renee Malcolm[6], and her only friends in the world were her grandfather, her cat whom she named Chikita, and any other animal life that happened to keep her company on the small used-to-be farm.

However, even with all the scorn, loneliness, and confusion she went through, Kira always saw the good in things. Perhaps, she could be considered silly in this aspect. When her father had disappeared, she had been rest assured that wherever he was, he was happy, whether with the Father in Heaven or still alive. When her last parent, her mother, was killed in a curious house explosion, she was content that her mother was with God and grateful that the Lord had presented herself with a new place to live with her grandfather. When a townsperson called her a diseased child, she would simply be satisfied that she was noticed and not ignored by those around her. When a dangerous storm broke out and stopped her from having a little freedom from the confines of her grandfather's house, she was just as happy to watch the power of the creation God had made that shook the foundations of her home.

It was a storm that showed that though humans ruled the earth, Nature still had untamed power.

So here she sat, watching the storm, her naive mind trying to wrap around the power of the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. For her, it was truly fascinating.

However, her attention was abruptly diverted. At that moment, movement caught the corner of her eye, just inside her peripheral vision. Kira tore her gaze from the window and storm to concentrate on her surroundings. To her right (facing away from the window) was her "living area" so to speak. A twin sized bed with an acceptable mattress, simple white sheets, and a warm patch quilt situated up against the corner nearest her. At the foot of the bed was an old oak chest, holding a small amount of items Kira held dear inside.

Nothing suspicious over there.

Kira moved her sharp gaze to the left of the bed and found the old oak dresser that stored her clothes - mostly ones that hid as much of her diseased skin as possible. Next to the dresser was a full-length mirror, not against the wall, but diagonal to the dresser to create a sort of corner. On the other side of that large standing mirror, a wooden pole, one of four that helped support the ceiling, stood, a sheet tacked to it that spread across to the end of the wall that hid the attic stairs from immediate view. Kira had situated that area to give herself some privacy when she dressed, though her grandfather wasn't one to come up the stairs these days. Though that area was shadowed and blocked off by the sheet, Kira concluded there was no movement there either.

Kira's blue eyes narrowed from underneath her hood as she turned her eyes to the stairs. Facing away from the window, they were right across the room and behind her. Then to the left of the stairs, there were piles upon piles of storage boxes. This was an attic, after all. Some of them had fallen and spilled their old, relatively useless, contents; but nothing out of the ordinary was there either.

The young teen frowned as she turned to the last corner of her make-shift room, which was to her left (to the right, if you were coming up the steps). The corner there was sealed off, much like her dressing area, but with more sheets. That was where her bathing area was; the bathroom that had been set up here had been neglected for years before she arrived and never completely finished, so it had no walls to seal it off from the rest of the attic.

Just as Kira began to turn away in conclusion that she was simply being paranoid, lightning flashed outside, flooding the attic with white light.

There!

Kira spotted the slightest movement behind the sheets of her bathing area. Her eyes caught sight of a simple shadow, which was consumed by the returning darkness the moment the lightning disappeared.

And then the thunder came - a loud clap that split the air. At that moment, the creature of her curiosity burst from the shadows. Kira let out a yelp as something small and furry hit her square in the chest. The impact made her fall off her window seat and flat on her back on the old wooden floor, her hood flying off to reveal a large patch of black upon her right cheek and eye.

Regaining her lost breath, the fallen teen snapped open her eyes, scrambling to fix her hood. However, she froze when her blue eyes locked with a pair of bright, round amber eyes set into a familiar, adorable, black-furred face. Those big amber eyes expressed a comically triumphant look.

The defeated young girl couldn't stop the laugh that left her lips.

"I was wondering where you disappeared to, Chikita," giggled Kira, picking up the small cat. As the creature broke into a rumbling purr, the human that held her remembered her first memory of her little, furry friend.

_"Grampy, how old is Chikita?"_

_She was seven years old and curiously holding up a certain black cat from underneath its furry arms._

_"That's a mystery," smiled the old man, her Grampy, with a glint in his blue eyes._

_A young Kira watched curiously from her place on the carpet as her grandfather stiffly rose from his reading chair, moving himself over to the small desk in their living room. He opened the drawer with shaky hands, pulling out two black and white photographs. They looked absolutely ancient, almost as if they'd turn to dust any second. After a moment of looking over them, her grandfather came over to her, pictures in hand._

_Kira gazed with wide blue eyes at the images. She recognized her furry friend in each one, despite how faded and blotchy the photographs were. In truth, she would have thought the animals were all just different Chikita-like black cats that happened to be by her father and grandfather. However, the distinct white cross the happened to grace Chikita's chest appeared on each cat's chest in the photos._

_"You and Papa sure are short in these pictures, Grampy," innocently observed the seven-year-old, holding up the images to her grandfather. "Chikita looks large next to you!"_

_Oddly enough, the old man didn't respond to her statement. Kira figured he didn't like being called short._

_"Your great grandfather knew Chikita as well, though she wasn't quite fond of him," chuckled her grandfather after a moment, mirth glittering in his old eyes._

_"But Grampy," spoke Kira, looking up at her elder with a confused expression, "how can that be possible? Cats don't live that long."_

_Grampy smiled and ruffled his granddaughter's short and messy dark brown hair, earning himself an early rebellious stage pout from the small girl._

_"Now that, _mitt barnbarn_[7], is a mystery for you to find out. Remember though, little Chikita has always stood by us, the descendants of the Malcolm family. Keep her by your side no matter what, for she will always listen to you."_

Kira stroked Chikita's lithe shape, not able to imagine that the small black cat could be more than a year old. However, the photographs her Grampy had shown her said otherwise, though just his word would have been enough to convince her. That being said, Kira couldn't remember a time when she didn't have Chikita, as if the creature had been with her her entire life.

The teenage girl moved her hand to the single white spot amongst all of Chikita's jet black coat, ruffling the white fur of the cross-like shape. It was almost as if her little cat had been blessed by God. Or something. Kira nearly laughed at that thought.

"How old are you really, Chikita?" she asked softly, looking at the white cross and then into Chikita's round amber eyes. However, all she was given was a begging purr for more loving strokes, though for just a moment - a second - she thought she caught a glimpse of something else in the cat's eyes.

Kira pet Chikita for a couple more minutes before returning her attention to the raging storm outside. It hadn't gotten any better. In fact, it looked worse than before outside. The wind was now roaring like a thousand lions, and the lightning was even brighter. It almost looked like explosions in the more distant masses of dark clouds.

Yes, just like explosions . . .

Kira narrowed her sky blue eyes, trying to focus through the pounding rain that concealed most of the meadow and corn field beyond her grandfather's house.

No. No, those _were_ explosions!

The teen rubbed her eyes and looked back out, only to be greeted by the sight of more balls of fire farther off in the darkness. Clashes of red, white, and yellow - no, now purple - lit up the distant wheat field.

Fire. There's fire out in the wheat field.

No, _there's fire here too._

_Fire was everywhere._

_Where was her mother?_

_The smoke was choking her._

_She was screaming._

_She couldn't find her mother._

_She couldn't breathe._

_She couldn't breathe!_

A loud clap of thunder snapped Kira out of the horrid memory. As her eyes refocused, she found the explosions in the distance had gotten larger. In fact, they only looked to be half a mile away now, and young teen swore she could hear strange sounds being carried by the storm winds -

The lights disappeared.

Kira held her breath as she desperately searched the stormy night for the explosions. However, there was nothing. Only rain, wind, thunder, and lightning.

"The Hell?" she murmured, holding a hand to her chest. Her heart was still pounding.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes landed on something. Through the pounding rain, a few shapes were slowly slinking through the dark, only two yards away from her house. Quickly, Kira burst into action, lunging across her room and flying down the attic steps to the bottom floor of the house, skipping down two to three steps at a time in her rush.

Grampy was at the living room table, sipping on some cheap tea whilst reading his newspaper for probably the third time - the words STRANGE CREATURES SPOTTED ONCE AGAIN blaring on the headline. Kira sprinted passed him and skidded to a halt at the front door to their home. Just as she put her hand on the bronze handle and Grampy opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, a weak _rap-tap-tap_ was heard on the door.

Kira froze.

Who - or _what_ - could be on the other side? Maybe whoever it was had something to do with the explosions . . .

The hesitating teen nearly jumped out of her skin as something brushed her leg. Looking down, she found Chikita by her, gazing up with intelligent amber eyes. Kira, instantly reassured, took a deep breath, pulled her black hood over her head, and opened the door, against her Grampy's warning.

Immediately, the storm's winds exploded into the house, no longer blocked by the front door. Kira was about knocked off her feet, gripping onto the door handle to keep herself steady and keeping one hand on her hood to keep it on as rain and air rushed passed her.

And then, three figures collapsed right through the door, seemingly having been leaning against it. At once, Kira fought Nature's fury to close the door, blocking out the storm once again. The moment she succeeded, she crouched down to examine the storm-drenched strangers at her feet.

"Are you three _mad_?" she snapped, already fretting about their well-being and shocked by their entrance. "Only a fool would be out in this sort of storm!"

A muffled groan left one of the bodies. It was then that the young girl's eyes finally took in what she was looking at, and Kira felt her heart jump into her throat.

These men.

_They were covered in blood._

* * *

[ SOTF BLOOPER 1 ]

"Maahh, thirteen's an unlucky number, Allen-chan. We need to fix this!" the red-head shouted, happily spinning his hammer about and preparing to bring it to the earth once again.

As another wave of poisonous bullets joined the rain of the storm, Allen begrudgingly swallowed his agitation towards Lavi's nicknames and turned to the dark mass of clouds and Akuma alike, raising his claw and summoning Crown Clown to cover him, the intricate, clownish masquerade mask gracing his young face as the cape lifted him into the air and chaos.

"HI BAN, MOTHAFUCKAAHHHS!"

"CROWN ED- _EHHHH_?!"

* * *

[1] Sword of Salvation is Allen's big ass sword, and Crown Edge is usually how his claw form of Crown Clown is referred to, from what I've seen (I believe Road referred to it as such in the Ark Arc).

[2] I'll sometimes refer to their attacks by their Japanese names, because they honestly look/sound cooler than their English translations, lmao.

[3] The number thirteen isn't just considered bad luck! The thirteenth mystery of the Tarot marks the uncertainty, the hesitation, the fickleness or again a transformation, the end of something (the death) and a renewal, a rupture, that is to say a very important change. I thought it would be a good number to use for the amount of Akuma left since because of their attack the exorcists found themselves at Kira's doorstep.

[4] Chan is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. In general, it's used, but not limited to, babies, young children, grandparents, and teenage girls and boys. It may also be used towards cute animals.

[5] Just for those who don't know; Crown Edge: A projectile attack which unleashes a barrage of crown-shaped rings from the clawed fingers on Allen's left hand. (SHINY FLYING MINI CROWNS PEW PEW -shot- ).

[6] "Malcolm" is her last name. She is not related to "Malcolm Leverrier (or however you wish to spell his name)." Reasons for this name will be revealed eventually! Also, "Kira" means "dark" in Gaelic; reasons for which will be revealed later as well.

[7] "mitt barnbarn" is Swedish for "my granddaughter;" I think I got it correct, or at least, I checked with my dad who is learning Swedish (my family is part Swedish), and he said it was accurate. (Correct me if I'm wrong!)

*Additional note: Kira, like most folks in England during this time, is a Christian. Therefore, there will be religious aspects used in writing out her thoughts and whatnot. It's your choice if you want to get your panties in a twist over it ;P

* * *

**A/N** : _I would like to thank everyone who has followed me from my old Song of the Fourteenth FanFiction to this rewritten one. _

_So what do ya'll think? Is this an improvement from the first SOTF? Is there anything in particular you're looking for or forward to in the upcoming chapters? Suggestions?_

___All feedback, preferably constructive, is welcome! Also, any grammar/spelling mistakes? I'll be responding to all reviews through the next chapter :)_

_Don't worry, I don't bite! (Timcanpy does though, not that I'm threatening you. Or something. Nope, not at all!)._

_p.s. That blooper. Guilty as charged. I've always wanted Lavi to say that! xD _


	2. Chapter 2

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**OHHEYADVERTISEMENT**_ : It needs to be rewritten and updated, but if you're interested, you can read Chikita's point of view of the first chapter of SOTF. Her fanfic is called "SOTF & 1/2" (totally punning off Lion King -shot-); you can find it by visiting my profile wewt._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **Kanashi Horuka**, **NirvanaFrk97**, **BAWtrusaitis**, **Reanie Campal**, __**Illuminati-4**_, **BloodStainsOnMyKisses**, **xXChaoticOrderXx**, **Zoranthi**, _**AbigailPaine**, **Evawinters**, **E-Richie**, __and__**SakuraTenshi36092 **_for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!

* * *

(|Recap|)

"Are you three _mad_?" she snapped, already fretting about their well-being and shocked by their entrance. "Only a fool would be out in this sort of storm!"

A muffled groan left one of the bodies. It was then that the young girl's eyes finally took in what she was looking at, and Kira felt her heart jump into her throat.

These men.

_They were covered in blood._

* * *

[ Chapter 2 ]

_The Curse & The Holy Mark_

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." (William Shakespeare)

* * *

Kira took a step back, her sky blue eyes wide as her breathe caught in her throat. A flash of lightning accentuated a bright, scarlet red that slowly pooled out from beneath the pile of three bodies, greedily staining the rain-soaked wood floors of her Grampy's entrance hall.

"Kira-" her grandfather's warning tone brought the young girl back to her senses, and she tore her gaze from the blood and to the bodies which leaked it. The wounded man in the middle was picking himself up weakly, falling to his knees twice before Kira hesitantly stepped forward to help him, against her grandfather's warnings. All the teenager could distinguish through the mud and grime of the staggering human was something akin to English attire, the remains of what could have been a handsome tan coat as well as a torn dress shirt and vest. He groaned softly as she steadied him on his feet.

"My deepest apologies, miss," he started, only to bend over into a coughing fit. Chikita, who had been flitting around Kira's legs, jumped back spitting as a bloody substance left the man's mouth. However, before Kira could move the clearly suffering stranger to the couch nearby, he spoke again, "My companions and I are . . . are injured and in need of immediate care," he ended, gritting his teeth.

Kira's sharp blue gaze took in the man's pained face. She still couldn't distinguish much of his appearance through the filth, but she was quite positive there were two red dots placed in a deliberate fashion on his forehead; and if clean, she was sure his hair was blonde. Could he be a noble of some sort? His speech was formal enough, but why would a noble be in the farmlands? Had he been traveling and ambushed by thieves? Or maybe those "strange monsters" everyone kept talking about got him?

Swallowing her curiosities, the young, cloaked girl flashed a glance at the stranger's companions before turning back to him. With their injuries, they would most surely die without help. Decision made, Kira, still supporting the wounded man, turned to her grandfather next. He had stood up from his chair, cane in hand, and was currently eyeing the bloodied men with clear surprise and distrust.

Thunder boomed outside, shaking the house.

"Grampy, grab the medical kit," ordered Kira quickly, ignoring her grandfather's disposition towards the wounded fellows. "It's in the kitchen cupboard."

Only once her grandfather nodded in hesitant confirmation did the young girl turn back to the man she was supporting. "What's the condition of your two companions?" she asked, motioning with her head to the seemingly unconscious figures on the floor.

Swallowing, the blonde hoarsely replied, "Lavi, the boy with the red hair, is unconscious and... and seems to have lost feeling in his left... arm. The white-haired boy, Wal- er- Allen, is in critical condition - though from what injuries, I am not certain."

Just after the wounded person finished his report, Grampy returned, a large wooden box in hand. It had a bright red medical cross painted sloppily on it (courtesy of Kira). Taking the medical kit with one hand and giving a thankful nod to her grandfather, Kira turned back to the blonde man that had finally regained his balance. It seemed as if he wasn't bleeding like the others; exhaustion appeared to be affecting him more than anything. That was good, Kira concluded, since it meant she would have one less person to take care of, and perhaps an extra hand to help her.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Link, Howard Link-"

"Okay, Link, I'm Kira," the girl said, cutting him off from formalities. "You take this," Kira motioned to the box in her hands, "up those stairs," she nodded to the wooden steps that led up to the attic. "Set it down on the bed up there - it's in the back to the left - then come back down and get, uh, 'Lavi,' was it? Yes, get Lavi up there."

Once Link had acquired the medical kit, Kira turned to her grandfather once again. "Grampy, could you get some sheets? I'm bringing these two up to the attic - we don't have enough room down here. If you can't get up the stairs . . ."

"I'm not that old, Kira," Grampy chuckled a little dryly, patting her on the shoulder with a wrinkled hand. "Don't worry about me - worry about these crazy youngsters."

The small teenager nodded, a little smile tugging at her lips. Seeing Link and her grandfather get to work, Kira joined them, taking a hold of who had been introduced as Allen, the white haired boy. She would have never noticed his hair color if Link hadn't mentioned it, as it was coated with mud, grime, and blood.

Slinging Allen's right arm over her shoulder and shooing a curious Chikita away from her feet, Kira heaved the boy's surprisingly light, limp body up the stairs, half carrying, half dragging him. She was halfway up when Link appeared at the top of the steps, having dropped off Lavi and the medical kit in the attic. He flashed her a slightly surprised look - just the smallest rise of his shaped eyebrow - clearly not having expected her in her small stature to be able to lift Allen up.

It wasn't as easy as it looked, of course.

Kira grimaced at the horrible feeling of her burden's blood soaking into the back of her cloak. She ignored it, however, and soon reached the attic, waving off Link's offer of help.

Grampy appeared in the attic just as Kira carefully set her bleeding subject down on the floor. He immediately started setting up two make-shift beds across from her own, limping about as he dragged blankets and pillows out from the storage boxes farther off to join the sheets he'd brought up. Kira, meanwhile, grabbed two of the extra thick blankets and added them to the make-shift bed closest to her, hoping that the wood of the attic floor wouldn't be too stained by rain water and blood.

A measly two minutes later, and the two injured men were on their sick beds, medical supplies scattered all across the floor around them. Kira took a cursory look over everything, hands on her hips, and nodded in satisfaction. Fixing her cloak and kneeling down, she continued with her orders.

"Link, you take care of Lavi," she began, motioning to the red-headed body a foot or so away from her and closest to the addressed blonde man. "Cut off all the extra clothes that'll get in the way and clean up his wounds. The alcohol is to your left - use that to sterilize any cuts. Put pressure on wounds that won't stop bleeding, and once they've slowed, wrap them up with those bandages. I'll take care of . . . er . . . Allen," she decided.

Kira paused, noticing that Link appeared about to disagree with her decision. However, he seemed to decide against it, as he turned to Lavi without a word. Shrugging off the curious moment, Kira moved her attention to her grandfather, who was standing close by her. "Grampy, please get the bucket of water from the bathroom," she said before looking to the body before her. This boy's wounds needed to be cleaned and . . .

This _boy's_ wounds.

Realization dawned on her, and Kira froze, her blue eyes going wide.

This bloodied and beaten body before her was of a boy. Not a man.

He was . . . he looked her age too. He definitely couldn't be older than sixteen - maybe fifteen or fourteen, considering his height[1].

Swallowing thickly and shaking herself from her contemplations, the cloaked teenager forced herself to work again. Right now was not the time to get distracted. Kira began to peel off her patient's mud and blood stained clothes, taking note of what appeared to have been a uniform - a red-trimmed black jacket ordained with certain trinkets like that of a gold latch as well as a symbol over the heart. Flashing a glance over to Lavi's unconscious form, she realized he had something similar as well, though customized differently. He also looked rather young, though older than Allen.

Two young boys wearing uniforms and a man that could possibly be a noble.

What an odd group.

Kira moved her attention back to her patient, eyeing the now revealed wounds that cut through his tight black undershirt and into his flesh. She tried working around the remains of the clothing, but in the end, she was forced to cut off his top. The blood had soaked into it, sticking stubbornly to his weeping wounds.

It was once that article of clothing was removed that she spotted his serious injury.

A ribbon of cut flesh stretched across his now bare chest, splitting across a long strange scar that marred his right side. Blood was oozing from it, trickling in thin streams down his ribs and staining the blankets beneath him.

Assured that there was no debris in the wound, Kira quickly snatched up a tan bathing towel and folded it over the glaring laceration, putting direct pressure on it in an attempt to stop the bleeding[2]. Keeping the fabric firmly pressed down with her right hand, she grabbed a pillow from nearby. She shimmied it underneath her patient's lower back, lifting the lower half of his body so that the wound was above his heart. Hopefully, gravity would give her a little edge in stopping the bleeding sooner . . .

Sunlight blurred Kira's vision, _trickling into the kitchen; its teasing warmth tickled her bare, dark-skinned arms._

_She was five years old._

_"But Mummy, my arm is tingly now!"_

_That was her voice. An agitated pout covered her face as she gazed irritably at her arm, which was currently held up by her mother's firm grip. She stubbornly tried to pry her parent's brown fingers from her wrist, but to no avail._

_"That's a good thing," insisted her mother, giving a reassuring smile as she waved away Kira's little hand. "Your arm is tingly because your heart is having a hard time pumping blood up to it."_

_"Isn't that a _bad_ thing," retorted Kira, a little whine leaving her throat. "Now my arm hurts too!"_

_Moments before, Kira and her mother had been making some vegetable stew. Despite her dislike of such healthy food items, Kira had insisted on slicing the carrots, and consequently cut herself whilst passing the knife back to her mother. Now, the wound was wrapped up in a thin cloth, still bleeding, and being held hiiiigh over her head._

_"Think, Kira, my _a-yo-li_[3]," spoke her mother patiently, tucking a strand of wavy dark brown hair behind her ear. She lowered her face to her daughter's, warm brown eyes meeting frustrated blue. "What are we trying to do right now?"_

_Little Kira frowned for a moment, pondering. "Stop the bleeding . . . ?" she offered tentatively._

_"_And_ . . . ?" encouraged her mother, urging the little girl to think._

_"And . . . Oh!" Kira's face lit up in excitement. Nearly jumping up and down, she exclaimed her answer triumphantly, "If raising my boo-boo above my heart makes it harder for my heart to pump blood to it, then the bleeding will stop faster!"_

Kira shook the fading memory from her mind, swallowing a little painfully. Getting distracted by the past and other matters would need to wait; there were people that needed her.

Refocused, the cloaked teen look up from the boy she was taking care of to where Link was handling Lavi. The two-spotted forehead man had removed Lavi's coat and shirt, just as Kira had done, and seemed to have finished up cleaning the cuts on the red-head's body. He was currently situating the boy's left arm-

_Pop!_

Kira flinched at the unnerving sound of bone being forced back into place. Apparently, Lavi had indeed originally lost feeling in his arm; he'd dislocated his shoulder. Ouch.

_Cuts, bruises, welts, a huge laceration, a dislocated shoulder, clear exhaustion - how on earth did they get all of these wounds?_ Kira thought, becoming wary once again. _This is much too overdone to be a robbery. It's like they were run over by raging horses, or something._

She eyed Allen's wounds again, almost as if to search for the hoof prints. However, there were none. Only welts and a few odd-shaped bruises. Huh, one of them looked freakishly similar to a star -

Kira jumped as a dry cough sounded nearby. Looking up, she caught sight of her Grampy, who was observing her quietly from his spot on her bed. He was giving Kira a disapproving look - no, it was a _teasingly_ disapproving look. Her grandfather had arched a white eyebrow and was looking from her to the unconscious boy before her in exaggerated meaning.

It took the teenage girl a moment to realize that in examining her patient's bruises, it might have come across as if she was ogling at his bare chest. Her ears reddened and she scowled from underneath her hood at the mirth-filled, old eyes that silently laughed at her.

Trying to recover what dignity she had left, Kira pushed her hand down harder on the towel over the white-haired boy's large wound and turned abruptly to Link. "How is Lavi?" she asked.

Link, oblivious to the little family episode, looked over Lavi, placing his hands on his knees as he sat cross-legged. He sure had finished patching him up fast.

"He'll live," replied the blonde decisively. "Aside from the dislocated shoulder and his cuts, he only sustained a bad hit to the head and some bruised ribs. How is Allen?"

Kira tried not to let the look Link flashed at the boy get to her. It was an odd one, and she couldn't quite decipher it.

"Well, he has a pretty nasty wound on his chest. Quite bruised up too . . ." she reported, once again flashing a glance at the coloring welts on the boy's pale skin. She was distracted, however, as her eyes caught sight of something odd.

Kira titled her head to adjust her angle of sight, gazing curiously at her white-haired patient's left arm. It appeared to be completely tattooed a tone of red so dark that it looked black; and as the solid tattoo continued down to his hand, the skin almost seemed to become . . . harder? Was it just her, or were his fingers like segmented armor?

Without really realizing her actions, Kira found her pointer and middle finger brushing curiously against her patient's left hand. She was surprised to find that the skin was as hard as it appeared.

"Miss Kira," Link's voice jolted the teenager from her thoughts, and she looked up to find Link watching her. She hadn't noticed it before, but the blonde man's eyes almost seemed to be of a reddish color. "I think it is appropriate for me to inform you that Allen is cursed."

That snapped Kira out of reverie. She looked up at Link in surprise.

"Cursed?" she echoed, trying to understand what this new information entailed. "You mean . . . his arm?"

Link cleared his throat. "Ah, no. I believe you'll understand what I mean if you take a closer look at the boy's face."

Further confused and curiosity egging her on, Kira leaned over to see Allen's mud-covered face. With gentle hands and whilst being careful that her cloak sleeves kept her covered, she took a rag, wetted it in the bucket of water her Grampy had gotten her, and dotted her patient's face with it, cleaning off the grime. Soon, the washing revealed a jagged, reddish-purple scar, which split through the boy's white left eyebrow, down through his eye, and trickled like a blood drop along the curve of his cheek. Crowning the cursed mark underneath his messy bangs was a ragged, filled-in pentacle.

The sign of the devil.

Not quite believing her eyes, Kira hesitantly reached out, lightly tracing the scarred tissue with a finger to confirm that it was indeed real.

She was speechless.

This boy, Allen, was cursed. As in, truly cursed. Not cursed with bad looks or a limp leg, but _literally cursed_.

"If you do not wish to further be in close proximity with him, it's quite understandable-"

"Mister Link," Kira cut him off sharply, flashing a glare at the man. Her eyes were like chips of ice from the shadows of her hood. "I am not so shallow. Only one without sin has the right to condemn others."

The blonde seemed a tad flustered, not quite expecting such an abrupt and emotional response out of nowhere. "Forgive me, I did not mean it that way, Miss Kira," he amended, recovering quickly. "I merely felt it right to inform you."

Kira, realizing she'd snapped rather unreasonably at him, flushed a little. She had let her sensitivity get the best of her, and it was quite embarrassing.

"Ah, no, I didn't mean to sound so harsh, Mister Link," she insisted. "I just . . . I'm a little sensitive . . . " she trailed off, unsure as to how to finish. Kira didn't want to admit to this stranger why she was so sensitive to discrimination. It wasn't really his business, and she didn't know him anyway. It'd be odd to go confessing her insecurities out of the blue, even if to excuse her rash behavior.

Luckily, Link, being the gentleman that he was, did not press her to speak, nor did he pry. He merely acknowledged her apology.

"Well," spoke up Grampy, reminding them of his presence, "if there's nothing productive left for me to do, I'd like to finish my paper."

Kira couldn't suppress her amused snort. "Grampy, you've finished that newspaper three times already."

The old man merely chuckled whilst Link observed the small family in polite silence. "I can assure you, _mitt barnbarn_, that there is always something new to find. Or at least, something that was missed before."

Kira could only smile and shake her head. "Whatever you say, Grampy."

Her grandfather opened the door to the stairs and left the attic, limping down the steps with his cane in hand. However, just before he shut the door behind him, a small black shadow flitted into the room. Chikita let out a soft, welcoming meow as she trotted over to Kira, tail held high and ears perked.

The welcomed teenager, however, gave her feline friend a warning look. "No playing with the medical supplies, Chikita."

Chikita visibly drooped. With a kicked-puppy mewl, the little cat trudged over to hide underneath her human's bed.

It was only once a relatively comfortable silence fell that Kira remembered the conscious man in the room with her. She turned to look at Link, only to find that he had been observing the going-ons quietly, his eyes following Chikita. There was a calculating look in his reddish gaze, and Kira decided she'd rather he direct his attention elsewhere.

"Well, then," the cloaked girl coughed a little, distracting the blonde man. "I do believe these two," she motioned to the two bodies on the floor, "are going to need a bath, or at the very least, a sponge bath[4]. Considering they are both unconscious, they'll obviously need assistance . . ." she trailed off, looking expectantly at Link.

He seemed confused for a moment, then blinked rapidly in understanding.

"Ah - indeed!" he agreed, nodding curtly. "Has Allen's wound stopped bleeding?"

Kira looked down at her hands, which were a little shaky from still applying pressure to the towel over the aforementioned boy's wound. Carefully, she removed the towel, which was quite wet with blood. Underneath, the large cut was weeping a little, but for the most part, the bleeding was under control.

"Mostly," she finally confirmed, flipping the towel over to the clean side before pressing it down once again, ignoring the old blood that seeped up between her fingers. She should have gotten a thicker towel; this one was much too thin. "This laceration isn't as deep as it looks, but he's lost a lot of blood because of it," Kira added thoughtfully.

The young girl couldn't help but picture Link dragging his two unconscious companions through the storm and to their house. It was hard to imagine the man accomplishing such a task, especially in such a physically exhausted state.

Kira hummed softly, recollecting her thoughts. "Lavi will probably have to have the bath first if he only received shallow cuts as you said . . . er, you can find a tub over in the corner," she added, nodding her head to the half-finished bathroom shielded by sheets. "You can also find some more towels there too. If you need extra clothes, I think there are some in one of the storage boxes in the opposite corner."

Link did as suggested, carefully gathering up Lavi's good arm over his shoulder and bringing the unconscious red-head to the bathing area. Once all that was visible of them were fuzzy shadows behind the starched sheets, Kira turned back to the boy that lay at her knees. The wind of the storm outside continued to howl and whine as her eyes were drawn to her patient's scar once again.

_Well, I guess being cursed would explain the hair,_ she pondered, tilting her head as she tried to picture snowy locks under the mud and blood that still coated his skull. _I wonder about his arm though_ . . . Her eyes trailed down to the boy's strange left arm. Link said his arm wasn't related to his curse. But then, what was with its alien appearance?

Keeping her left hand applying pressure and ignoring the sound of water running in her bathing area, Kira once again reached out to analyze the strange limb by touch, this time concentrating on the segmented fingers. She nearly jumped as she found a kind of faint warmth make her skin tingle. The young girl no sooner felt this warmth than she noticed something faintly glowing on the back of the white-haired boy's hand. Narrowing her blue eyes, Kira found herself gazing upon a rather intriguing emerald-like cross embedded into the skin - or, well, perhaps not quite embedded; it sort of looked like it was a part of his skin, really. Like an additional tattoo. That glowed.

Kira arched a dark brown eyebrow as she looked back at the curse mark marring her patient's face.

A curse mark upon the eye, and a holy symbol on the hand. A strange combination indeed.

Once again, the young, cloaked teenager couldn't help but feel suspicious. Who were these mysterious strangers, and what had they done to get themselves in such a bloody state?

* * *

[ SOTF BLOOPER 2 ]

"What's your name?" she asked.

[insert theme music]

"Bond, James Bond-"

"Say _wha_?"

* * *

[ SOTF BLOOPER 3 BECAUSE I HAVE NO LIFE ]

"If you do not wish to further be in close proximity with him, it's quite understandable-"

"Mister Link," Kira cut him off sharply, "ain't nobody got _time_ for that!"

(If you don't get the joke, look up the "ain't nobody got time for that" on Youtube. It is _fantastic._).

* * *

[1] Allen's height is listed as follows: a) 168 cm (5'6"); b) 169 cm (5'6 1/2"); and c) 174 cm (5'8 1/2")(current, age 16). Am I the only one giggling at the "1/2" bit?

[2] I decided not to number all of the medical facts. Anyway, I tried to keep the less modernized version of treating wounds, since this isn't the 21st century; the treatments are of only the basics. As far as I know (I double checked on Google), all of these methods of treating an injury are accurate. EDIT: Here we go! Check out "How to Treat Lacerations" on the eHow website. You can search for it on Google, and the page gives you steps on how to treat such injuries c:

[3] "_a-yo-li_" is Cherokee for "child." I double-checked, but please correct me if I'm wrong!

[4] Against popular belief, showering after receiving a deep laceration isn't wise. The water pressure can reopen the wound. That's why it's adviced that if you must bathe, do so by using a wet towel to dab the area. However, if the cuts aren't that deep, it's usually fine to take a shower.

*Side note: Ya'll should really look up the baphomet - it's basically a pentagle, but is filled in with the face of Satan (it's hard to tell the details, 'course). Hoshino has used it before in some of her earlier artwork; not only that, but when the Earl is really pissed off, his face resembles the one in the baphomet. Fun Fact!

* * *

**A/N** _: This chapter might be boring for some, but I hope others can see the necessity in it, merp a derp. I'm still pretty indecisive with points of view; I fret about keeping everyone in-character, especially Two-Spot Link. Meep. Whatever the case, Lavi will be coming up next, and things shall soon speed up!_

_ANYWAY. The fact that I got so many reviews for my first chapter was surprising enough, but I could never be able to express my joy at seeing how thoughtful, detailed, and constructive they were. Ya'll rock!_

_** Kanashi Horuka** - You're my first reviewer! :D Oh gosh, I'm sorry I deleted the original SOTF in the middle of your rereading D: I'm planning to upload it elsewhere, maybe to my scraps on dA - if you'd like, I could link you to it once I have it up? Very sorry about that! And thank you very much for the compliments amg TuT I'm very happy that you have enjoyed the beginning of this version and look forward to the rest; I hope the next chapters will be just as pleasing! Thank you so much for the kind review!_

_**SakuraTenshi36092** - a;sdfkajsdf you too? Amg /flails/ I shall definitely put up the old SOTF elsewhere to link to ya'll TwT Sorry! And thank you so much for the constructive and detailed review! It means a lot! Good luck with exams (and life xD), haha. Now that I think about it, I believe my biggest obstacle with this rewrite is remembering how Kira was /before/ she met the exorcists and began to mature and grow more relaxed, lol. It'll be interesting! And you're welcome! I love finding FanFiction folks on deviantART, and your photography is great :D  
_

_**Papayyyyy** - PAPYYYY -willdothateverytimeIseearevi ewfromyou- Yaaay, I'm happy you think so 8D Amg a Christmas present lmao; Papy, we're really far away from Christmas! xD WEWT. LolyeahChiandherweirdplacest ostopat. At least I'll be uploading weekly now until I catch up; then I'll probably go once every two weeks. I'm not gonna do the monthly thing ever again - it's too confusing!_

_**Illuminati-4** - Thank you for the critique on this chapter! :D I'm happy it was a good start =u=b And another large thank you for answering my question about Kira! I appreciate the honest feedback on her, and I do believe I see where you're coming from now. I think that in the last few chapters of the former SOTF, I was becoming more of the "spit out a chapter already" updater; not as concerned about developing her character, but only to update. Not only that, but I was beginning to fear that perhaps I was putting too much emphasis on her character, so I tried throwing in other things to kind of tone her down. The "being drowned by the story" is definitely an accurate description, mhm. The more I think about it, the more I agree, haha. With this rewrite, I aim to fix that as well! I'm happy that she's pleasing in this chapter, and I can guarantee that I'll be pulling in more points of view from the DGM characters. Thanks once again!_

_**AbigailPaine** - LOL, hi there! xD Oho, if you only read SOTF on dA, you missed out on more than half the story! I never did put all 60 chapters up on dA, haha. I shall indeed continue this rewritten work! Thanks for the review~!_


	3. Chapter 3

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**OHHEYADVERTISEMENT**_ : If you have a deviantART, I'm ChikitaWolf there as well!_

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to __**KhaalidaNyx**, **songofelyurias**, **Avloth**, and **Kaite1211** __for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

Kira arched a dark brown eyebrow as she looked back at the curse mark marring her patient's face.

A curse mark upon the eye, and a holy symbol on the hand. A strange combination indeed.

Once again, the young, cloaked teenager couldn't help but feel suspicious. Who were these mysterious strangers, and what had they done to get themselves in such a bloody state?

* * *

[ Chapter 3 ]

_Meeting & Greeting_

"Hang on to your ignorance of the world's true evils whilst you can. What awaits your eyes and understanding is not something for the faint of heart to look forward to."

* * *

The first thing he saw when he woke up was a ceiling.

An oak ceiling to be exact; flat, solid, and eight feet above his nose. Following this observation, he caught a slight musty smell, as well as antiseptic. Feeling came next, and ignoring the aches in his body, the recorder recognized something soft, most likely blankets, underneath his body.

Turning his head, the second thing he perceived was a figure, about five foot four in height and skinny. It had a feminine shape and was wearing a hooded black cloak-

-what.

"_The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed since the beginning of history. Death is often given the name "Grim Reaper" in English, and since the 15th century, its appearance has been portrayed as that of a skeletal figure, or a figure with no visible features, sometimes carrying a large scythe or sickle and clothed in a black cloak with a hood. In many languages, especially English, Death is personified in male form. However, in others, it is instead perceived as a female, most notably in Slavic and Romance languages_.[1]"

Immediately, the recorder's 49th and current alias woke from its clouded daze. "Lavi" nearly jumped out of his skin, scrambling up in a flurry of limbs and blankets.

"OH _MY GOD_, IT'S THE REAPER!"

Hearing Lavi's screech, the accused "Reaper" mimicked Lavi's reaction, only it let out a surprisingly feminine cry and fell back on its bum. Hearing this, the startled bunny quickly realized something was off with his conclusion. Reapers didn't sound like little girls!

At that point, the Junior Bookman noticed his clothes were different. A cotton shirt and slacks? These definitely weren't his clothes, and his hammer was missing, much to his discomfort. Weaponless, the red-head carefully recalculated his surroundings in seconds, keeping tabs on the "mythical creature" scrambling away from him.

He was in what looked like an attic turned bedroom turned sick room - wow, room-ception! - and the remains of a make-shift bed lay around his feet. Just a foot away from where he stood, another make-shift bed was placed, this one containing a familiar, white-haired body.

Allen?

"A-ahm, Mister Lavi, you're bleeding."

The shock of hearing his current persona's name leaving the cloaked figure's lips barely registered as he looked down. The addressed red-head yelped as he caught sight of a scarlet stream trickling down his right arm; however, before he could react, a firm hand snatched up his bleeding limb.

"Please hold still," spoke the feminine voice from earlier.

Lavi could only watch in a confused daze as the object of his wariness approached his injury. His mind was still trying to make sense of his surroundings, and it was very hard with the aches assaulting his skull. However, he was able to conclude that the dainty figure attending to him was not the Grim Reaper, but instead a young girl, if the voice was any hint. Dark-skinned hands peaked out from her cloak's long sleeves as she peeled off his old bandages and rewrapped the cut on his arm with practiced ease.

Gypsy? No, her accent didn't fit. Unless, of course, she'd mastered a British accent. Even so, her skin color wasn't quite like that of a gypsy; it had more of an American Indian tinge to it, more reddish.

Lavi frowned inwardly. He couldn't distinguish much with that cloak covering her.

The mysterious girl finished and stepped back, rubbing her arm in a nervous gesture.

"Sorry for startling you," she said.

Recovering himself, Lavi plastered a grin on his face. If he wanted to learn anything more, he'd have to make this person feel comfortable enough to reveal herself, as she was clearly wary of him seeing who she was or what she looked like. Why else would she wear a cloak in such a temperate room?

"I think I startled you more," he countered with a good-natured laugh, deciding to go with a teasing method. He rolled his shoulder, testing his wound. She had bandaged it well - not as skillfully as a real nurse, but close enough. Identifying his other aches and pains, Lavi found his left shoulder had been reset, his head hurt like Hell, and he had quite a lot of small cuts on his upper body. A particularly nasty bruise on his leg protested as he shifted his weight. He redirected his attention back to the girl, finding that she appeared to be deciding on how to respond.

A cautious one, eh?

Before he could try another teasing comment, the door behind him burst open. Lavi whirled around, flinching as his wounds protested. However, his quick movement was deemed unnecessary, as the person who had entered was none other than Allen's personal stalker. The red-head noticed that the blonde man was wearing different clothes as well - a dress shirt a tad too big for him and slacks. Huh, they were like twins!

"Two-Spoooots[2]~!" Lavi sang, flinging his arms into the air like an excited child.

Boy did Lavi love Link's occasional slip up in expression. The man's facial muscles twitched, but he refused to respond to the hated nickname. Instead, the blonde turned to the cloaked girl standing nearby.

"I apologize for Lavi's eccentric behavior, Miss Malcolm."

Lavi pouted like an ignored puppy, but turned to the addressed girl all the same, taking note of her last name. The family name Malcolm was of Scottish origin, not at all related to the Americas. But then, it wasn't uncommon for those of British origin to have Scottish names. This still didn't quite explain the American Indian skin color, unless she had relations in America.

The more he pondered, the more the red-head was beginning to enjoy this little challenge. Normally, he would quickly record the people he came across and that was that. Not a second thought. However, with this girl hiding herself, he couldn't simply do as he usually did. Instead, he had to use any slight clue revealed to him, rather like putting together a puzzle. Lavi liked puzzles!

"There's no need to, Mister Link," replied the young girl. "But I would appreciate it if you could drop the formalities a bit - it sounds like you're addressing my mother." At that point, she turned her hooded self to Lavi. "You really ought to rest for a while longer. Some of your deeper cuts will open up again otherwise."

Lavi gave a mock-salute. "Yes, ma'am! Though, might I be so bold as to request the knowledge of my fair lady's name?"

The red-head silently praised his work as he successfully earned a laugh from the cloaked girl. Even her posture was less tense now.

"My name is Kira - and please, just call me Kira," she added, her hood moving as she flashed a meaningful glance at Link. The blonde man remained impassive.

_A Gaelic name_, noted Lavi, plopping down onto the messy remains of his make-shift bed, goofy grin still on his face. "_Dark" certainly fits her at the moment_![3]

"Welp, you already know my name," asserted the red-head, leaning back on his hands. "You can just call me 'Lavi' too!"

If he didn't know better, Lavi was quite positive he saw a smile in the shadows of that hood.

"Miss Kira-" Even through the cloak, the aforementioned girl's twitch could be seen. However, Link continued on without missing a beat, "-if it would be alright, there are some things Lavi and I need to discuss privately."

_No kidding_, agreed Lavi mentally. He was still uncomfortably uninformed about their surroundings. All he'd really gathered so far was that they must still be in England and in a relatively old farmhouse, probably on a hill if the sound of the wind outside revealed anything.

The young girl seemed to hesitate for a moment towards Link's request. Lavi could tell she was curious, but she appeared to reign herself in.

"I'll be downstairs with Grampy, then. If you need anything, just call," Kira informed them, walking passed Link and to the attic steps. Just before she started down, she looked over her cloaked shoulder and added with clear amusement, "Oh, and Lavi, keep an eye out for Chikita. She seems to have grown fond of the remains of your headband."

Once Kira had exited, a curious red-headed bunny turned to Link, one emerald green eye meeting the gaze of two reddish eyes.

"Chikita?"

"_Chiquita_" was Spanish, translating into English as "_little_" or "_small_" as an adjective, and "_little girl_" as a noun; it could also be used as a term of endearment. However, from Kira's pronunciation of the name, it sounded as if the spelling had been butchered a bit.[4]

"Miss Kira's cat," supplied the blonde man simply. "It's a sneaky creature and enjoys stealing items that interest it. Your headband is one of them, as well as your golem[5], unfortunately."

Lavi's hands reached instinctively for the cloth that usually wrapped around his head; however, his hands only gripped onto his mess of red hair. The exorcist let out a despairing sound at his loss, caring much more about his favorite headband's probable demise than the fate of his golem. Link, however, held no sympathy for the bunny.

"I assume that injury to your head shouldn't affect your memory?" he spoke, business-like tone as present as ever.

Recognizing that he ought to turn on serious!Lavi for a bit, the red-head tilted his head, going over his most recent memories and picking out what was relevant.

"We arrived at Newton-in-Furness, Cumbria[6], at three past seven in the afternoon. At seven forty-two, we checked into the Newton hotel, dropped off our things in Room 12, and our Finder, Thomas, left to inform the caller of our arrival. At eight fifty-four the thunderstorm hit, and Thomas still hadn't returned. The three of us, you, myself, and Allen, left the hotel at nine thirty-three after Allen spotted fifty-two Akuma[7], forty-five Level Ones and seven Level Twos, in the wheat fields northwest of town. After eleven minutes and twenty-one seconds of running to and through the wheat fields, the Akuma ambushed us from the sky and ground."

Lavi paused at this point, rubbing his chin.

"And then we kicked ass for three minutes, fifty-eight seconds, defeating two dozen Level Ones and the Level Twos, before the remaining twenty-two Akuma overwhelmed us through numbers. The weather conditions weren't of much help either. After my third _Hi Ban_, a Level One rammed into me, and I hit my head on somethin' hard. Felt like a rock," he concluded, poking the back of his skull. "I was dazed at that point, but I do remember helping you drag 'Sprout towards a light on top of the hill overlooking the wheat field. I passed out before we got there though . . . I'm assuming this place is that light's source?"

Link responded with an affirmative, hands behind his back. Amusingly enough, he looked as if he were about to give a report to his higher-up, Central Inspector Lvellie[8].

"This is the home of the Malcolms. The only residents appear to be Miss Kira and her grandfather, whom she calls 'Grampy;' there's also their cat, Chikita."

"So what's Allen's condition?" inquired Lavi, already eyeing the still body a foot away from him. The white-haired boy's chest rose and fell evenly enough, but from the tension in the Destroyer of Time's face, it was clear that breathing hurt.

"Similar to yourself," answered Link, turning his gaze to his assignment as well. "Cuts, bruises. What knocked him out was loss of blood from a particularly large laceration, from what Miss Kira has informed me. Miss Kira is the one who has led the care of your's and Walker's injuries."

Lavi sat up, ears zeroing in on the blonde man's phrasing. "_Led_ the care?"

The former CROW's face turned stony, and he continued to stare stubbornly ahead. A certain red-headed bunny, meanwhile, felt as if he'd just stumbled on something juicy.

"So _who_ exactly cleaned and bandaged up _who_?" Lavi prodded, a grin spreading wide on his face. He waggled his eyebrows for extra show - or at least, his one visible eyebrow.

However, Link was doing an admirable job at keeping his cool. "Your insinuations are unappreciated, Bookman Junior."

"So Kira wasn't the only one, eh? Do tell me, Two-Spots, did you tend to my injuries? Because judging from the look on your face, you did, and I would love to offer my appreciation towards such care and kindness from a man such as-"

"It appears," interrupted Link, twitching and visibly irritated now, "that you are in stable health, despite your head injury and illogical babbling. I will take my leave then."

Lavi, who had been laughing out loud, stopped abruptly.

"Eeeeh? But _Two-Spots_, I thought you wanted to have a _heartfelt_ conversation with me?" the red-head whined, throwing himself forward dramatically.

"I inquired nothing of the sort."

"Did too!"

"Did n-" the dog of Lvellie froze in mid-snap. A horrified expression crossed his face at the realization that he had honestly been about to argue like a child. Lavi, meanwhile, was laughing hysterically, clutching at his stomach.

Link, now red in the face, scowled, fisting his hands by his sides. The few CROW talismans in his pockets seemed to announce their presence ever more clearly. Only a few would do the trick - perhaps a binding spell and a -

"Oh!"

Lavi's sudden exclamation broke Link from his murderous calculations. The blonde man relaxed only a little as the eye-patched exorcist took on a more serious look.

"Where's my _Ōzuchi Kozuchi_[9]?"

* * *

Kira shut the door behind her quietly. It was hard to force her feet down the attic stairs, as the itching temptation to stand by the door and attempt to listen was stubbornly poking at her. However, she dared not test the trust of these strangers. Link had been more than polite in keeping his nose out of her business since last night's storm. He never questioned her insistence on keeping her cloak on at all times, and he was more than helpful around the house. In fact, Link had been the one to clean up the entrance hall and the path up to the attic stairs, which had been slicked with blood and grime from their arrival. He had also offered to assist with breakfast this morning.

Speaking of which, as Kira exited the staircase, a delightful aroma teased her nose, wafting from the kitchen. Following the mouth-watering smell, she soon found herself gazing upon a plate of perfectly plump, fluffy, blueberry muffins. The delicious food items appeared to glow in the morning light filtering through the kitchen window, and Kira swore that if food sparkled, these muffins would be doing just that.

"Kira?"

The cloaked girl jumped, feeling like a child caught red-handed in stealing cookies. However, the voice from the dining room was inquiring, not chastising.

"Yes, Grampy?" she called back, hands twitching under her cloak sleeves as she resisted the urge to grab a blueberry treat.

"Did Howard finish those muffins?"

Kira wracked her brain for a moment, confused as to who "Howard" was. But then the name clicked, as she remembered how Link had introduced himself the night before.

"Yep!" she affirmed. "Would you like me to bring them in?"

"That would be appreciated," chuckled Grampy's voice. "Try not to eat them all before they get to me."

The young girl laughed lightly as she transported the blueberry muffins from the kitchen and to the adjacent room.

"I could never eat that much, Grampy!"

The dining room was the largest room of her grandfather's modest farmhouse. Like all of the other rooms, it had a wooden floor, but this one was graced with an old, decorative carpet, which the dining room table was placed upon. The table itself was rectangular in shape, made of a dark mahogany, and paired with five chairs (originally, there had been eight chairs, but apparently something happened to the missing three). It was, in all honesty, the nicest piece of furniture in the entire home, as well as the only piece not made of oak.

Kira didn't even have to look for her grandfather. As always, he was seated at the head of the table, sipping tea and reading his newspaper. However, this newspaper was a new one, the headline reading WHEAT FIELD FIRE NORTH OF NEWTON. As the cloaked girl placed the plate of heavenly smelling, warm muffins on the table, she briefly wondered how her grandfather had gotten the newest addition of the paper. There was no way someone could have delivered the newspaper to their house - they were all afraid of getting her skin disease - and Kira had not gone to town this morning. So how had he gotten his hands on it?

"Would you care to share those muffins, _mitt barnbarn_?"

Kira jumped, having been too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice that she'd placed the plate out of her grandfather's reach. Recovering herself, she quickly came up with a teasing response.

"Maybe, if you say the magic word," she trilled, putting a hand on her hip as she gazed challengingly at her grandfather.

Grampy, in response, seemed to see straight through the shadows of her hood, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Just as I told your mother, I do not beg for food," he retorted with a sniff, snapping his newspaper straight. He pretended to continue reading it, much to his granddaughter's amusement.

Kira sighed dramatically, "And just as mother always told me, you are much too prideful for your own sake."

That earned an amused snort. However, before her grandfather could respond, a familiar, small shadow zipped out across the floor. Kira, mostly out of habit, dove to protect the muffins, but she was just a second too late. Chikita slipped through her grasp, flew off the table, and let out a muffled yowl of triumph through her stolen prize. In seconds, the little cat had jetted back to her hiding place behind the living room couch.

Kira let out an exasperated huff, removing herself from the table. "Bad, Chikita!" she called across the entrance hall and to the living room.

A happy mewl, followed by shuffling, was the only response.

Shaking her head, the thwarted teenager looked back to the plate of muffins -

- they were gone!

Sky blue eyes searched frantically around the dining room, and Kira spun around twice, cloak whirling, before her eyes landed on her grandfather. A triumphant grin stretched across his old face as he bit into a muffin.

Kira stared, trying to piece together the events that had just transpired. Finally, after giving up on explaining how her grandfather had moved so impossibly fast, her second defeat sank in, and the young girl trudged over to plop in the chair nearest Grampy.

"You had better share those," she muttered.

"Maybe, if you say the magic word."

* * *

[ SOTF OMAKE 1 ]

Chikita had no qualms towards the human Howard Link; at least, not while he continued to make absolutely delectable food items. As long as he graced her charge's household with his cooking, she could happily permit his snooping about her business and eyeing her cross marking every chance he got.

This morning had said enough about his skill in food preparation. Those muffins - absolute heaven!

The little cat's whiskers quivered as she remembered the taste of them. She hadn't ever come across (*cough*stolen*cough*) such delicious blueberry delights before.

With that said, dear, loveable Chikita couldn't help but feel she ought to give something in return to the human. Therefore, on her afternoon rounds that day, she made sure to visit the old, abandoned barn farther back down the hill from her charge's residence.

Needless to say, she was quite satisfied with her findings. Before the sun could start it's descent, the little black feline had returned, a particularly plump prize in her jaws. She wasted no time in entering the household, slipping through the cat-door and trotting purposefully into the living room and towards the blonde human's assigned sleeping place - the couch.

Sure enough, Howard Link was there. It appeared as if he was doing work, scribbling away in a small book of sorts from where he lay on the couch. His reddish eyes were narrowed behind his glasses as he wrote. [10]

Well, he could finish what he was doing later. Chikita wanted to give him her present ASAP! Ears perked and tail high in the air, the little cat stopped before the couch, looking up eagerly.

Unfortunately, her height prevented her arrival from being noticed. No worries, Chikita could work around that. Wiggling her haunches, the little cat gathered her legs and leapt up onto the couch.

Howard Link appeared startled at her sudden appearance and immediately shifted back on the couch, moving to a sitting position and inadvertently giving more room for the little cat. Taking this as an invitation, Chikita happily moved closer. Satisfied in her position, she sat down, placed her present before her and in front of the blonde human, curled her tail neatly around her paws, and meowed pleasantly.

The human stared dumbly at her, red eyes looking to the little cat and then to the dead mouse at her paws. Clearly, he didn't understand that she was giving him this delightful snack. Twitching her ears at the human's slow thought process, Chikita nudged the rodent closer to him with her nose, standing up as she did so to further prove her point.

Finally, understanding dawned on the human's face. Chikita was too happy that he understood her actions to notice the expression of distaste that flashed through Link's facial features. However, she soon realized someone was wrong, as the human she was rewarding suddenly shook his head, pushing the mouse back to her with the very end of his writing utensil.

Offended at his refusal, Chikita's ears went flat against her head and her tail lashed in displeasure. She stubbornly nudged her present back to Link, determined to repay him for his delightful cooking. How dare he refuse her present!

But he did so once again, this time verbally as well.

"No," he said firmly, as if to push his point further in an attempt to get the little cat to understand.

The little cat, however, refused to understand. She, the lone guardian of this household, had just graced him, a lumbering human and a guest, with a gift. Refusing once was offending enough, but twice? What gall!

It was the third refusal, him getting off the couch to leave her and her neglected gift, that pushed Chikita over the edge.

Enraged, the little black feline let out a yowl, taking a flying leap off of the couch and directly onto the back of the blonde human's head.

I MADE THIS FOR _YOU_.

( If you don't get it, look up Julian Smith on YouTube. It's his Hot Kool Aid episode ;D ).

* * *

[1] Courtesy of Wikipedia. 'Course, I reworded/reorganized it a bit to make more sense in regards to what Lavi's contemplating, as well as added information Wikipedia left out (that article wasn't too well-supported as it was, unfortunately).

[2] "Two-Spots" is the nickname Lavi gave Link in the manga :D (DGM Manga: Chapter 138, Page 5).

[3] "Kira" in Gaelic translates to "dark." Also, Lavi is referring to her "dark" appearance, the black cloak and how it shadows her face.

[4] My Spanish sucks. So when I planned out Chikita's character after hearing the word "chiquita" said in class four years back, I, of course, spelled it wrong on my notes. I became too used to spelling it the butchered way, and therein, "Chikita" was stuck, lol. (This also explains my username, in case you were wondering!).

[5] Lavi has his own customized golem, which is shaped like a rain drop. Cute, neh? (DGM Manga: Volume 5, Chapter 41, Page 80).

[6] Newton-in-Furness is a real town in England (Cumbria area). While the wheat fields and the hills are there, I'll be getting, uh, "creative" with the rest of the layout; so don't take me literally on any details of the town's look.

[7] At first glance, that number of Akuma might look daunting. However, remember that not only were all but seven of the Akuma Level Ones, but also that Lavi and Allen have fought that many Akuma at once before. (DGM Manga: Chapter 29, Page 2). And for those of you wondering why they were injured so seriously - the surroundings (a wheat field and a thunderstorm) added to a difficult battlefield, not to mention they had seven Level Two's with their own unique abilities to deal with. Not an easy fight!

[8] "Lvellie" is how DGray Wiki spells it. It wasn't referenced, but if I'm not mistaken, Hoshino has spelled it "Lvellie" before in the manga, so I went with it. Despite the fact that every known DGray website, forum, etc says it's "Leverrier" (as in the French astronomer oho~).

[9] "_Ōzuchi Kozuchi"_ is the nickname Lavi has given to his Anti-Akuma Weapon, which translates to "_Little Hammer, Big Hammer_." However, is Innocence's name is actually "_Iron_ _Hammer_" (or "_Tettsui_"). (DGM Gray Ark Fanbook: Chapter 1, Page 36).

[10] In the manga, he's shown wearing glasses, usually only for doing paperwork. ( -man Manga: Volume 19, Chapter 183, Page 42).

*Side Note: Whilst I was looking through village names, I came across this beauty: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. No, this is not a joke. I'm absolutely serious. Apparently, the Brits decided they'd try the Latin (or Roman) way of acronyms to get their village name to be longer. LOOK IT UP. I'M NOT KIDDING. xD

**APOLOGY**: I made a seriously dumb-assed (totally American) mistake. ENGLAND DOESN'T HAVE CORN FIELDS. CORN IS AN AMERICAN CROP. WTF CHI, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? -facedesksrepeatedly- So yeah, the corn fields have become wheat fields. Just so ya know. Merp.

* * *

**A/N** _: I think I've only ever written from Lavi's point-of-view once or twice before (both in the first version of SOTF), and it was, once again, a lot of fun. Both of my parents are lawyers, so all of the observations, specifics, and logical thinking processes are a breeze for me (as long as my ADD doesn't interfere lmao). The only challenge, really, is keeping him in-character (which is quite interesting when keeping in mind his Lavi persona and Bookman persona). I hope I did alright, haha. (ps: Lavi likes older women. He's not flirting with Kira)._

_Welp, next chapter is Whispers of a Lullaby! I pretty much have it finished, so I may end up uploading it soon :) Until then, reviews bring love, cookies, and more chapters! :D_

_I would've never expected many reviews for that last chapter, but ya'll continue to pleasantly surprise me!_

_**AbigailPaine**__ - Glad you think so! I think I'll be keeping the relation with the Fourteenth's Song in the story, since it's a large portion of the plot I planned out three years ago. SPOILER TIME. Also, yes, I'm always up-to-date with DGray xD Indeed, past!Allen offered to be the host of Neah's memories; and for some odd reason, Allen "de-aged," and is now aging again. I wonder if past!Allen knew of this phenomenon? Could be why he offered to be the host, neh? Gotta love Hoshino's plot twists! Thanks for the review~!_

_**E-Richie**__ - Thanks! And I'm happy you see improvement in my writing style :D Hopefully, it'll continue to improve! (LOL, me too! I'm happy ya'll are enjoying them xD I get a little cheesy sometimes, but hopefully they'll keep entertaining!). Thanks for the review~!_

_**Kanashi Horuka**__ - WEWT. Happy to hear it! And I'm happy you're enjoying the details; I've decided to be more playful with my words and much more descriptive about surroundings (which may be spurred on by the more artistic side of me from dA, haha; ever since I started drawing, I've found details to be much easier to write!). Hell, yeah, sassy Kira ;D Reading over the old SOTF, I really noticed how much I left out about her personality, and I hope it'll shine brighter in this rewrite! Thanks for the review~!_


	4. Chapter 4

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **Yuki Tyche Fia**, **I've got Rhythm in my Soul**, **XxAvengingAngelxX**, **rainbowdragongirl101**, **Lacie Caluanthes**, **espeonlover**, and **BooDude** for __adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

- they were gone!

Sky blue eyes searched frantically around the dining room, and Kira spun around twice, cloak whirling, before her eyes landed on her grandfather. A triumphant grin stretched across his old face as he bit into a muffin.

Kira stared, trying to piece together the events that had just transpired. Finally, after giving up on explaining how her grandfather had moved so impossibly fast, her second defeat sank in, and the young girl trudged over to plop in the chair nearest Grampy.

"You had better share those," she muttered.

"Maybe, if you say the magic word."

* * *

[ Chapter 4 ]

_Whispers of a Lullaby_

"Surely, music is the language of the soul."

* * *

It had been three days since the strangers had inelegantly collapsed on Grampy's doorstep, therein barging into the small Malcolm household's lives. At first, it had been rather hard for Kira to get used to so much company. For one, the young girl wasn't familiar with guests, let alone interacting with them. For another, she had to constantly wear her cloak, too nervous about what might happen if her skin disease was revealed. The teenager wanted to be known by who she was, not what she looked like or her ailments. Thankfully, the oldest of the guests, Link, had not commented on it; and neither had Lavi after regaining consciousness.

Almost immediately, if their first conversation revealed anything, Kira had been able to define the re-awakened Lavi; an eighteen year old, red-headed jokester . . . with an eye patch. Speaking of that eyepatch, Kira still didn't quite know the rhyme or reason for it (or how it came to be, more specifically; clearly he'd injured and, or lost his right eye)[1]. This was because during the red-head's bandaging on that first night, Link had verbally decided it was best to keep the piece of covering on; his reasoning being that Lavi had never shown anyone his right eye, and therefore they shouldn't invade his privacy. Kira, naturally being overly curious and a tad hypocritical to her own secrecies, had taken a while to get over the fact that she wouldn't get to see the hidden part of the jokester's face.

Lavi himself, however, had not even bothered trying to hide his curiosity towards her hidden self. He was constantly trying to get a look at Kira from beneath the sanctuary of her black cloak, joking and teasing all the while. This wasn't too bad a development though, as Kira's little cat was at her rescue. Chikita had been keeping a close watch on the flirtatious (teasingly so, mind you) red-head; and so far, Kira's appearance remained a mystery to their guests. Consequently, Chikita's protection also resulted in a kind of . . . "friendly" rivalry between feline and man. In fact, Lavi had started calling cute, little Chikita a "little devil." The cat herself, meanwhile, was only too happy to pounce on him or give him a nip on the ankle (she usually took pleasure in stealing his recently recovered headband).

Speaking of Chikita's endeavors, the little cat's habit of theft revealed quite a few odd items from their guests. Just recently, the feline had been chewing on something akin to a toy - a small, black mechanical object. It had thin, bat-like wings and appeared to have an eye of sorts, which consisted of a white circle in the middle of it's rain-drop shaped body and thin black circles that surrounded a solid black circle in the center. It also made odd noises when pestered, almost as if it were alive.

Kira had never seen such a thing before and immediately confiscated it from her kitty's furry clutches, much to Chikita's disapproval. In contrast, Lavi had been quite happy to find it in Kira's possession, since apparently it was his. Upon her inquiries, the red-head revealed a fairly vague answer; the mechanical creature was called a "golem" and acted as a communication device. Before Kira could question as to whom exactly they were "communicating" with, Lavi had diverted her attention with a particularly funny quirk about Link; the blonde man was sensitive about his height[2].

At that point, Kira had huffed and insisted that the man was in no way vertically challenged. Lavi countered that she was defending her own height, to which she promptly responded to by sic-ing Chikita on him.

Needless to say, Link and Lavi were settling fast into her daily life.

But Allen, the third of their party, was a different story. Unlike Lavi, the cursed boy still hadn't woken up; and he was starting to look scarily thin, the bandages around his torso not even able to hide the poke of ribs appearing beneath his muscle and skin. It was odd, as Kira had never seen anyone deteriorate so quickly from lack of food (she managed to get him some soup every once in a while, but it was in small portions, since she feared drowning or choking him). If he didn't wake up soon, the cloaked girl feared he may starve to death. Therefore, she had made it her duty (as his caretaker) to stick by him as often as she could, even going so far as to finish her chores quickly so she could check on him.

And at this particular time, she was doing just that. Kira sat next to her unconscious patient, gently combing the knots from his snowy hair. Her actions weren't necessarily for his health, but more that she felt the need to do so (who likes to wake up with knotted hair?). She'd done just the same for Lavi in the short time he'd been unconscious, though she would never tell the eighteen year old she had.

She still had a sense of pride, after all. Plus, the cloaked girl knew she'd never hear the end of it if Lavi found out.

In fact, Kira could already imagine the jokes and teasing she would go through.

"Stupid Lavi," she muttered with a pout, moving to take on the task of cleaning up her room, Grampy's attic.

* * *

"A-ACHOO!"

Grampy Malcolm looked up idly from his newspaper. A certain red-headed guest of his was recovering his chair's balance, holding his nose in response to his rather loud sneeze.

"Gud välsigne dig[3]," offered the elder, more out of habit.

"Tack![4]" responded Lavi cheerfully. "Though my position on gods, or your God, could be akin to an agnostic[5]," he added thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair again.

Grampy snorted. "Regardless of your position on religion, I will respond accordingly in the care my own Faith preaches. Whether you accept, refuse, or be offended is entirely up to you."

Lavi laughed heartily. "How could I refuse an offer of blessing? It's nice of ya, either way. Shows you care about little ole me! Hey, you know why people say 'bless you' in response to someone sneezing?"

Grampy finished sipping his tea before replying, "When you sneeze, your heart stops beating, no?"

The red-head grinned. It appeared, from what Grampy had determined so far, that the young man enjoyed conversing in such ways, especially with a person with his knowledge. The boy, Lavi, was bright himself. Brighter than average, if not brighter than above average, what with his extensive knowledge of history, small facts, and language. It reminded the old man of a friend of the past, almost like de ja vu. If his suspicions were correct, he knew he'd have to keep his steps light and his tongue quick around this child. It was bad enough that those he accompanied were none other than _their_ people.

"That's true!" chirped Lavi in response to Grampy's assertion. "Though, people didn't know that when they first adopted the response to bless those who sneezed. In fact-"

The elder man's attention was diverted temporarily as a small, black shadow caught the corner of his eye. As Lavi continued talking, the patriarch turned his gaze half-mindedly to his farmhouse's front door. Sure enough, he found the cat flap was slowing down from a sudden entrance. Instinctively, Grampy Malcolm edged his plate of biscuits closer to himself, knowing full well that Chikita was always hungry after returning from her rounds. The fact that the small creature hadn't announced her presence was enough of a signal that she was plotting something - whether it be to nab a snack or annoy his chattery, red-headed guest. While the latter was more likely, the elder knew not to place a bet on it.

He liked Howard's cooking too much. And he knew Chikita did as well.

"Did you know that a popular wive's tale has gone around, insinuating that when you sneeze, it's because someone is talking about you?" offered Lavi, beginning to fiddle with his eating utensils.

Eyeing the spinning, pointy fork in the boy's hand, Grampy arched a white brow, attention returned. "Are you suggesting someone was doing just that?" he asked, referring to Lavi's earlier sneeze.

"Mah~ Well, I'm an interesting person, Gramps," clucked the red-head, grinning as cockily as ever. "It's no wonder people like to talk about me!"

Grampy observed the boy for a moment. He was quite amusing, and therein, Grampy felt it was only appropriate that he join in on this useless, but entertaining, banter. As his red-headed guest began to take a sip from his tea cup, Grampy put forth a comment of his own.

"I'm sure your eye-patch, glaringly red and obnoxiously styled hair, and eccentric behavior are heavy contributors to your conclusion."

Lavi choked on his tea.

And, predictably enough, Chikita chose that moment to make her move.

* * *

Kira exhaled, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow. She had finally finished repacking and "reorganizing" the storage boxes in the attic, pushing them back into the corner as neatly as possible (which was a challenge in itself). If they hadn't fallen out during the storm or been rummaged through for extra supplies for their guests, she would've never found out that her grandfather seemed to have collected a ridiculous amount of bedding supplies, clothes, and miscellaneous items. It was almost as if he'd planned to open up a huge store, or something. She'd have to inquire about it later.

The young teenager stretched idly, free of her cloak for now (the door was locked so no one could barge in), before turning back to the sleeping boy on her floor. He looked so peaceful . . .

Link once again crossed Kira's thoughts. While she appreciated that he kept to himself in regards to her business, he seemed to do the opposite with the unconscious boy. Every time the blonde man entered the attic, his red, calculating gaze locked right on Allen, without fail. It wasn't a look of worry, either. It was piercing, as if trying to deduce whether something dangerous was about to leap forth from his companion.

It unnerved Kira to no end. Was he not a friend of Allen's? Weren't friends supposed to trust each other? Link didn't appear to trust Allen, that's for sure.

Maybe it was the curse mark that unnerved him?

Kira sighed. All of these thoughts were nothing more than assumptions. She had no knowledge of her guests' situations, and therefore couldn't make a solid conclusion no matter how hard she tried. It didn't help that Link was tight-lipped and Lavi was always vague . . .

Maybe she was worrying too much about it. It wasn't like they would be here long - in fact, they'd probably leave once Allen was well.

For some reason, that thought hurt. Kira frowned, holding a hand to her chest. She didn't recognize this feeling. Had she gotten so attached to these strangers in such a short amount of time? Was it because she'd nursed them back to health? Or was it because these strangers, who had been so kind to her, made her think of them as family? Lavi could certainly be a teasing big brother; Link, _that_ sort of uncle; maybe Allen could be a sibling too, or a cousin . . .

Kira snorted, half amused, half saddened. What silly thoughts. She had no idea what brothers or uncles were like.

She didn't even remember what it was like having a father.

The young girl sighed, sending a glance back to her sleeping patient.

His hair was out of place again.

With a little huff, Kira returned to his side with a brush in hand. Who knew white hair could be so rebellious? But then, it was cut in a rather uncommon fashion. Longer at the top to frame his face and shorter in the very back. The bangs constantly seemed to get in his eyes, and Kira didn't want him to wake up with hair in his eyes.

As she pushed the unruly locks back, the teenager suddenly remembered her mother doing just the same with her hair.

Kira stared at Allen's sleeping face for a moment.

Huh, so that's what being a mother felt like. Having to fret over her children and tame their stupidly unruly hair.

Just as that comparison crossed her mind, Kira face-palmed.

_You're fourteen, Kira, get a hold of yourself!_ the young girl thought sternly, shaking her head. _Not only are you too young to have these thoughts, but they're older than you! If anything, you're the kid in this situation!_

Lavi's shriek made her jump.

"KYAAAAA! YOU DEMON CAT!"

Kira couldn't stop herself from snickering. It sounded as if Chikita was having a little fun with Lavi again. A couple more shouts and crashes were heard before the noise inevitably died down, following by the grumpy noise of her grandfather. The young girl didn't have to hear any more to know Grampy was whacking Lavi over the head with his cane and telling him to "shut the hell up!"

Smiling now, Kira turned back to her sleeping charge. There wasn't much left for her to do, really. His hair was tamed again, he'd been cleaned up that morning, and his bedding had been changed. The young girl hummed softly to herself as she pondered over what she might do next.

It was then that her sky blue eyes drifted to Allen's scar. It was hard to miss, and often distracted her when she became bored. Perhaps it was because she didn't entirely understand _how_ exactly he had been cursed, or how it worked as a curse. Was it just a mar on his looks? Or could it have a supernatural ability like in those books on witchcraft she'd happened across once? Maybe it sealed a demon inside of him like on those horror stories?

In the midst of her thinking, Kira once again reached out to examine the ragged marking. However, her touch, just like before, inspired nothing from the curious scar. A little disappointed, Kira sighed.

Well, it was getting rather dark outside. Maybe she'd just go to sleep now . . .

_Then the boy . . . fell deep asleep . . . _

Kira nearly yelped in surprise, visibly startled as she jumped up and looked around the attic frantically.

No one was in her room except Allen and her, so who was singing just now? That voice, she had heard it but for just a moment . . . Perhaps she had imagined it? That seemed the most logical conclusion, anyway.

Heart fluttering, Kira slowly calmed herself. After a moment, she sat back down and looked back to Allen.

. . . was it just her, or was his curse mark more distinct? Actually, the scarred tissue looked rather agitated now. Hesitantly, Kira once again touched the red marking, feeling to see to what extent the skin was bothered -

_. . . one or two ambers in the fading ashes of the fire . . . _

_. . . flared up in the shape of a beloved face . . . _

Kira's eyes widened and she froze. That song - it wasn't coming from somewhere in her room. It was in her head! The softest whisper of a lullaby - a female voice -

___. . . dreaming many thousands of dreams_

___spreading across the land. _

___Your silver gray eyes shine their light . . . _

Her body was beginning to relax as the quiet notes of the lullaby soothed her. Something about this tune . . .

_. . . like stars falling down from the night sky. _

_Hundreds of millions of months and years . . ._

_No matter how many prayers are returned to the Earth . . ._

_I shall continue to -_

WHAM!

Kira yelped as something slammed into her, the beautiful lullaby abruptly silencing. The brunette landed flat on her back, hard enough to yank the air from her lungs. Gasping, the teenager quickly scrambled up, only to find her lovable, little Chikita looking - well - not so lovable. The small feline's black fur was bristling, her amber eyes wide and glaring as she growled warningly at Allen's still form. It was almost as if she expected the unconscious boy to attack at any moment - Kira feared the little cat might lunge out - claws were unsheathed -

Chikita stopped.

Kira watched dumbly as the little cat's ears swiveled around searchingly, her long black tail twitching as if confused. Finally, Chikita turned and looked up at Kira, blinking once.

_Well, that was weird_, concluded the dark-skinned teen blandly. _But then again, hearing voices singing in your head isn't normal either._

The young girl was much too tired to think any further on the phenomenon. As it was, the time was way past her usual bed time, and her eyes were getting heavy. For all she knew, this could all be one of her silly dreams.

Decision made, Kira checked that the door to the attic was indeed locked, determining some privacy for herself. Lavi had taken Link's place sleeping on the couch down in the living room (something about Link losing a bet), hence why Kira was able to safely have cloak-free time in her room. She stripped of her clothes and changed into her pink and gray cotton pajamas before settling herself comfortably under the quilt of her bed. The brunette gave one last tired look at Allen, half-heartedly wondering if there was a way to feed him more effectively whilst he was unconscious, before sleep's heavy grasp finally claimed her.

* * *

She slept fitfully that night - more fitfully than usual. Swaths of shadows moved at the edge of her vision, but whenever Kira looked, they'd disappear, darting farther back or dissipating like fog. Screams echoed in her ears, and blood filled her vision, only to change back to thick darkness before replaying again and again. It was confusing and disorienting; it caused her heart to flutter wildly and her blood to rush in her veins. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and released her repressed terror with a scream.

Something muffled her cry, and Kira jerked forward as whatever it was smothered her face. Immediately, the weight was removed, and the panting girl looked around herself wildly, clutching at her blanket with an iron grip. Sweat beaded her forehead, and she was gasping as if she'd run miles without stopping. It wasn't a nice feeling, to put it simply.

Finally, however, she found what had woken her.

Chikita was scrambling back into balance in her lap, having unceremoniously fallen from her perch on Kira's chest when the girl had bolted up. The cat gave an upset mewl when her human picked her up, but calmed when she was re-situated in the young girl's arms. Big amber eyes glanced up into dazed blue, and Kira sighed softly, her heart finally beginning to calm.

And then she was spitting out fur.

Kira scowled, putting her hand over her mouth as she removed the annoying and clingy black hairs.

"Couldn't you have done something other than smothering me?" she brunette complained to her cat, pouting now.

Chikita simply meowed, a glint of mirth in her amber eyes.

As the fogged panic in her mind finally dissipated and she began to process things again, Kira realized that the sun was up. Streams of light peaked through the old curtains covering her windows, bathing her room in warm tones and revealing floating dust drifting lazily through the air. The calming sound of birdsong also tickled her ears.

Kira yawned widely, stretching as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. Chikita gave a little mewl of protest at the movement, but jumped off Kira and her bed nonetheless. As the young girl followed her cat to the floor, she watched sleepily as the small, black feline trotted over to Allen, who was sleeping soundly a little off from her bed. Humming softly as she noted that her patient still hadn't woken up, Kira moved to her dresser and pulled out some clothes. Ignoring the untouched dresses in her bottom drawer, she picked out some overalls and a dress shirt - much more efficient for moving around in and less likely to get caught on something . . .

The young teen shook her head, determined to squash the rising memory from the back of her mind. This morning was promising to be bright and enjoyable (ignoring her nightmares, anyway), and she didn't want it ruined by her less-than-pleasant memories!

_Good thoughts, Kira! _she chanted in her head as she buttoned up her shirt. _Your day is as positive as you make it!_

Kira moved out from behind her dressing area and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, giving a half-hearted turn. The black splotches on her face and hands glared at her, and the small girl frowned. Thoughts of attempting make-up prodded at her mind, but she pushed them away with a sigh. Not only would make-up be expensive and superfluous, but the townspeople would recognize her as the diseased child either way due to her noticeable features - dark skin, dark hair, and bright blue eyes.

Mumbling unhappily, Kira reached out for her long black cloak, only to pause before her fingers met it.

_"OH _MY GOD_, IT'S THE GRIM REAPER!"_

She hung her head with an exasperated sigh.

Never again would Kira look at this cloak the same way ever again. The Grim Reaper? Did she really look like that? How... how... she didn't even know how to feel about it.

"Stupid Lavi," she muttered, half depressed, half amused, once again reaching out for her haven from prying eyes. However, the moment her hand touched the black cloth, a yell of surprise blared into her ears.

Kira jumped, startled, and whirled around to see a darting black shape jet under her bed - Chikita? The uncloaked teenage girl looked down from whenst Chikita had fled, only to feel her heart skip a beat.

Allen had finally woken up.

* * *

[ SOTF BLOOPER 4 ]

In the midst of her thinking, Kira once again reached out to examine the curse marking.

_I'm gonna pop some tags_

_Only got twenty dollars in my pocket_

_I - I - I'm -_

Kira yelped, jumping back. A song in her head? What? She stared at the motionless form of Allen, aghast. She had touched his scar - and - and -

Recovering herself, Kira reached out warily to confirm her ridiculous suspicions, once again making contact with the boy's marred forehead.

_I'ma take your grandpa's style, I'ma take your grandpa's style,_

_No for real - ask your grandpa - can I have his hand-me-downs? (Thank you)_

Her face took on a "WTF" expression as the odd-ass song continued.

"The hell?"

Meanwhile, somewhere deep, deep, deeeep in the very back recesses of Allen's mind, a certain Noah was having a little too much fun.

( I can't get Thrift Shop by Macklemore out of my heeead D: ).

* * *

[1] Lavi's eyepatch is, believe it or not, a topic of controversy. When Gray Ark (DGM fanbook) came out, its first translations stated that Lavi lost his eye from a stray bullet at age seven. However, the most recent translations merely state that he was hit be a bullet and nearly died - no mention of his eye. Furthermore, in the Reverse Novel: _The 49th Name_, Lavi states that he doesn't wear the eyepatch because of any injury. As if to torture us even more, in the manga during the Ark Arc where Lavi is finding the key Jasdevi hid, he mentions how searching for the key will be slower since he's not using his right eye. Hoshino, you troll.

[2] When Link was first introduced, he was stunned that the exorcists were relatively disrespectful towards him, most notably Lavi, who nicknamed him "Two-Spots." In trying to understand why they acted as such towards him, he concluded that it must be his height! xD (DGM Manga: Chapter 138, Page 5).

[3] "Gud välsigne dig" is Swedish for "Bless you." (Specifically, "God bless you").

[4] "Tack" is Swedish for "Thank you."

[5] This isn't canonical fact! It's supposition on my part. We've seen Lavi give the proper "blessings" towards the dead before (when he was in the graveyard of Krory's castle - DGM Manga: Chapter 34, Page 6), but other than that, well, Hoshino hasn't revealed much. If she has, feel free to correct me with the reference to what manga page or fanbook it's in! Otherwise, with his prayer at the graveyard in mind, I went with the safer route - "agnostic." Considering he's a Bookman, I figured he wouldn't really be too concerned with religion anyway, aside from recording it.

*side note: A linguistically reliable friend of mine, Rana, translated the Fourteenth's song directly from the Japanese and to English. I personally find that it makes more sense than the other translations, and therefore I used her translation (with a tweak or two of the older versions, specifically adjective-wise). You can find her version on deviantART - her username is Rananieida! Interesting how it mentions "one or two ambers," no? Makes me think of the Noah's golden eyes . . .

* * *

**A/N** _: Yola! I've gotten positive feedback on the omakes and bloopers (wewt!), and I was also wondering, are ya'll finding the reference information useful? The bracket numbers? It does take a big chunk of the story sometimes, but I figured it'd provide some fun facts and/or stem off some questions. Thoughts, please?_

_A special thank you to those who have been reviewing! And those of you who plan to - I look forward to it!_

_**Yuki Tyche Fia** - S-someone recommended my fanfiction? ;A; Amg that just totally makes my day lmao! I'm flattered! -rollsaroundhappily- SOTF will hook into the main plotline for the manga, but it'll be a while before it does. For instance, in the first version of SOTF, I was at chapter 60, and still hadn't quite hooked it in yet (of course, there's a shiz ton of references and jokes to earlier happenings, but still). Since DGM is a monthly manga and currently undergoing a lot of plot twists (as well as hiatuses), it's going to be quite a challenge, haha. Until then, I'm going to be feeding off of areas of the manga that could've been expanded (for instance, I was working on a large omake where the exorcists and Kira go on a mission to the old Black Order building to recover some documents left there, and of course, Komui's experiments have, uh, been left there as well. Oops) as well as shooting in a little plotline myself. But yeah, I'm curious as to how I'm going to pull it off as well :'D (rambling Chi is rambling a;sldkjf) Thanks, and I'll look forward to your reading it! Thanks for the review~!_

**Tezzifrea**_ - LOL, no worries on typos; it's my fault for updating at midnight 8'D I'm pleased that you're loving SOTF so far! Admittedly, I'm not a fan of the, uh, (how do I put this so as not to offend anyone amg) . . . Chi doesn't like reading about what dudes do in bed either -shot- But then, I'm not really a romance reader in the first place, so xD I'll refrain from going into a rant about poorly written fanfictions, but I totally relate! Unfinished fanfictions always hurt, especially if they've got an excellent plotline developing. It seems as if the fan character fanfictions get hit the hardest with this, which is unfortunate. If you're looking for any well-written fan character fanfictions though, I highly suggest _**Kuraun Kuraun's** **_Living Animation_**_ fanfiction! It's another Allen x OC one, and it's absolutely fantastic, not to mention amusing! Aha, I remember the days when I updated thrice a week! Pfff, I'm happy my sense of humor isn't too corny xD (oh God, that's kinda punny -dyingfromcheesiness- ). It was embarrassing, I tell ya! xD I was in AP Euro class, looking up during the agricultural bit, and was like "Ah, shit D:" Anyway, thanks for the review(s)~! :D_

_**Kaite1211** - I'm happy the descriptions are a kick! :D Thank you very much, and, as you can see, my update schedule will be quite frequent xD I guess I get more inspired to update early after I see ya'll's reviews! Anyway, thanks for the review~!_

_**1storywriter** - It's really gonna basically be the same as the original SOTF, just with more details and information; maybe another plot twist or more scenes too :) Haha, that's my favorite part! I could never leave the underground scene with those two out xD I'm actually really looking forward to uploading that bit! I definitely feel improved :D Everyone's kind comments and pointers on what I'm doing well definitely add to the uplifting feeling! Thanks, 1storywriter - and thanks for the review~!_


	5. Chapter 5

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **AuthorChick96**, **The Guardian Raven**, **B3GIN**, **1storywriter**, **Sabet163**, **The Cookster**, and **LadyMimi101** for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

"Stupid Lavi," she muttered, half depressed, half amused, once again reaching out for her haven from prying eyes. However, the moment her hand touched the black cloth, a yell of surprise blared into her ears.

Kira jumped, startled, and whirled around to see a darting black shape jet under her bed - Chikita? The uncloaked teenage girl looked down from whenst Chikita had fled, only to feel her heart skip a beat.

Allen had finally woken up.

* * *

[ Chapter 5 ]

_Laughing Away Our Cares_

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." (Charlie Chaplin)

* * *

The first thing Kira did was panic. Whilst her awakening patient was lifting himself abruptly from his sick bed, she was scrambling for her cloak. With quick, jerky motions, she hurriedly slipped it on, yanking the hood over her head and pulling the sleeves down.

In that time, the formerly unconscious boy had pushed aside the shock of his sudden return to reality. From underneath the safety of her hood, Kira, twitching at her sleeves, watched the teenager on the floor sit up, holding his head with a wince of pain. As his right hand ruffled his white hair in his attempts to ward off his dizziness, his eyes opened, revealing bright silver irises. Kira stayed stock still, not daring to move, as those strange eyes began to assess their owner's situation. His cursory look to his surroundings, however, never got to Kira's spot, for the tightness around his torso redirected his attention. His eyes moved down to look at his chest, observing the clean bandages there with unconcealed curiosity.

Determining that he was distracted, Kira decided to take advantage of the short moment to release the tension in her legs. Her heart skipped a beat, however, as the moment she shifted, the awakened boy's head snapped up, silver eyes freezing her in place. The cloaked girl held her breath as his gaze assessed her, narrowing some at the shadows hiding her face. Taking in her hidden appearance, he acquired an aura of wariness and underlying caution before flicking his gaze elsewhere to observe the room, always keeping her form in his peripheral vision.

Having de ja vu from when Lavi had woken up, Kira waited patiently, albeit nervously, for her patient to determine his surroundings. After a few seconds where he seemingly concluded that he wasn't in danger, the injured boy finally turned back to her.

"Er . . . where am I?" he asked tentatively, breaking the tense silence.

Kira swallowed thickly, recovering herself as her thoughts began to race. She hadn't really thought of what to do when her patient woke up. After a moment's hesitation, she decided on an explanatory approach.

Carefully, the young girl responded, "You're in northern England, a few miles from Newton-in-Furness." Kira motioned her head to their surroundings, further explaining, "This is my Grampy's farmhouse. My Grampy and I took care of your friends' injuries, as well as your own . . ."

Taking in her words, the white-haired teenager appeared to relax some.

"Thank you - erm," he paused, looking up at her expectantly.

"Kira," offered the cloaked girl, relaxing as well as she moved over to sit on her knees next to him. With his unspoken permission, she took a look over his bandages, making sure none had gotten loose in his abrupt movements. He laid back down half-way through, appearing a tad dizzy still.

Once finished with her quick check-up, Kira looked back to her awakened patient, feeling a little nervous as he inconspicuously kept a careful eye on her actions. The older teen was polite and gave off a friendly air, but she could tell that her cloak was making him wary. Trying to remind herself that it would be overlooked eventually, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

He blinked once at her question, his original wariness disappearing as a rather pitiful look crossed his face. "Famished. Absolutely famished," he groaned, holding his stomach with one hand.

Amused, Kira smiled from beneath her hood. "I'll get some food for you - it's probably best if you stay put for a little longer."

"Thank you very much, Miss Kira," the cursed boy replied, a small smile of his own gracing his lips.

Kira felt her heart flutter for a moment, not quite used to being offered such sincere gratitude before. Her smile broadening at the warm feeling in her heart, the young girl offered a nod as she picked herself up.

"You're welcome," she all but trilled. "I'll be right back. Oh, and sorry about Chikita," Kira added, unable to contain her light laugh. Moving towards the attic stairs, she continued, "I doubt she meant to scare you awake. Chikita just has a bad habit of getting up in people's faces at the most, ah, _inopportune_ times."

Allen chuckled, seemingly a little embarrassed at his frightened reaction towards the animal. He nodded before his gaze turned to her room once more.

Meanwhile, as she unlocked the attic door and slipped half-way through, Kira couldn't help but send a last look over her shoulder. Interestingly enough, Allen's gaze appeared to have located Chikita, as the little cat's big amber eyes could be seen shining under Kira's bed.

Kira watched curiously as the white-haired boy lifted up his right arm, almost as if to beckon to the creature eyeing him from the darkness. In response, Chikita slipped out from under the bed like a shadow, slinking over to Allen cautiously. However, the black feline, upon reaching the object of her curiosity, ducked under Allen's beckoning right arm and chose to instead rub against his strange, black left one. A welcoming purr and meow rumbled from the little cat's throat.

Kira smiled softly, watching in amusement as Allen stared at the happy cat in a mixture of surprise and delight. As he scratched a friendly Chikita behind her ears, his gaze softened.

Well, if Chikita approved of this rather odd-in-appearance teenager, then it looked like everything was going to be alright.

Satisfied, Kira exited completely, clicking the door shut behind her softly.

Downstairs, meanwhile, Lavi was busy entertaining himself. Naturally, this implied that someone else was trying not to tear their hair out; and, since Grampy Malcolm was enjoying solitude in his room, that meant the object of the red-headed bunny's current affections was none other than Allen's stalker.

"Pleeeeeeaaase!"

"I will not repeat myself, Bookman Junior."

"But Yu-chan's hair would look _marvelous_ in your braid style!"

"I refuse to pass on my skills to someone who would use them to endanger the safety of our new Headquarters building."

"But, Two-_spooooooots_," the bunny continued to whine, waving his limbs from where he lay sprawled on the floor, "I'm talking about aesthetics here! Yu-chan is _big_ on aesthetics," the eye-patched teen pointed out seriously, rolling onto his stomach to jab a finger at the blonde trying to ignore him on the couch. "You've seen his hair! Clearly, Yu-chan would appreciate my braiding his hair if I did it in a fashionable, visually pleasing manner!"

"Clearly, you have a death wish," Link informed him, turning a page in his report to continue reviewing.

Hearing this, Lavi pouted childishly, preparing to unleash another onslaught of pleading. However, before he could begin, the sound of someone coming down the stairs caught his attention. The footsteps were light, and the slightest wisp and brush of a cloak could be heard, informing him that it was indeed Kira, not who he and Link were hoping would wake up soon.

Deciding to move on to a new object of entertainment for now, the red-headed teenager hopped up and meandered over to the kitchen, the direction in which he heard their cloaked host go. Sure enough, Kira was in there, rummaging around and collecting a variety of food items. Watching as she began to make multiple ham and cheese sandwiches, Lavi tiptoed up behind her.

"Whatcha doin'?"

He grinned when she jumped in surprise and whirled around; however, his grin went from amused to "ohshit" as his green eye locked onto the brandished knife in her hand.

"Woah, woah, woah! I surrender!" Lavi yelped, adopting an over-exaggerated cringing posture as he took a step back for good measure.

Recognizing him, the young girl immediately put aside the knife, apologizing profusely.

"- I didn't hear you come in!" Kira ended after a solid minute, huffing as the red-head had started laughing at her repetitive sorries.

"No problemo!" replied Lavi, big grin in place as he clapped an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened immediately at the direct contact, and as he continued to chatter, the young girl continued to try and inconspicuously get out of his grasp, much to his amusement.

"I was just wondering what little old you-"

"I-I'm not little! My height is normal for a girl my age!"

"-was doing getting this huge amount of food? I've never seen you finish more than one sandwich before, and here you have three, making a fourth. Oh! Are the apples over there included too? Are you making these for us? Cuz if so, you ought to put caramel, chocolate, or any kind of sugar on those apples, cuz Link really likes sweets[1] and-"

The cloaked teen appeared to have given up on struggling as, still underneath him, her shoulders slumped in defeat. However, when Lavi's guessing started, she recovered herself, as if knowing her answer would give her the upper hand.

"Lavi, Allen's awake."

"-and what _I_ really like is- huh?" he cut off, staring down at her shadowed face dumbly. Unfortunately, the moment his ramblings stopped and shock settled in, Kira quickly slipped out of his grasp, brushing off her cloak with a little sniff.

"Allen is awake," she repeated with a smile, moving back to her work as Lavi's dumbfounded green eye stared at her, his mouth agape in his surprise.

"Allen? Allen- OUR LITTLE BEANSPROUT IS AWAKE~!" Lavi cheered happily, twirling out of the kitchen to inform the boy's stalker.

Immediately following, a shout from the attic blared down the steps, shocking Kira and making Lavi stumble -

"MY NAME IS _ALLEN_, BAKA LAVI!"

* * *

HE. WAS. STARVING.

And what was worse? Lavi refused to give him his food! No; no, that silly rabbit was doing much worse than that - he was giving him _one sandwich at a time_. Did you know what that was for Allen? It was _torture_, that's what! Cruel and unusual punishment!

"Lavi, _please_!" he pleaded, beginning to consider getting on his knees to beg. His stomach was going to eat him from the inside out if he didn't satiate it! Dammit, why did Lavi have to be so much taller than him?!

It was quite unfortunate that, along with the delightful food, the cloaked girl also brought up Lavi and Link. If only she hadn't been deceived by Lavi's stupid "I-want-to-help-my-friend-and-totally-not-torment-him" facade!

"Miss Kira gave me those sandwiches!" insisted Allen as his stomach released an angry howl for the third time. "You have no right to hold them hostage!"

Lavi tsked and wagged his finger at the despairing teenager.

"Now, now, Bean-sprout-"

"It's ALLEN!"

"You should be thanking me! I'm the one who insisted that she make you eleven sandwiches, after all. It's not my fault our dear little Kira ordered me to make sure you didn't eat too quickly! She said you'd get sick otherwise, and she's right, just so ya know[2]," added the Bookman Junior, grinning evilly as he moved out of the way of Allen's continuous, but weak, advancements. The boy was still recovering, and therefore was rather slow at the moment, still wincing at his healing injuries.

Hearing Lavi's words, the cursed exorcist wasted no time in arguing - for the sake of his stomach! - "Miss Kira doesn't know about my Parasi-"

"Your _condition_," corrected Link immediately. "We're calling it your 'condition' in front of Miss Kira and Mr. Malcolm, don't forget."

"-_my condition_," all but hissed the starving boy, not caring about technicalities at the moment. He'd only had three sandwiches so far, and eight more were waiting for him! "She doesn't know-"

"That you're a glutton?" offered Lavi, slipping out of Allen's stumbling reach. "A moocher? A pig?" With each nickname, the red-head avoided a hungry lunge. "A bottomless pit? A living garbage disposal?"

"Dammit, Lavi!" growled out Allen, once again failing to reach his precious food. Finally, his legs couldn't hold him any longer, and he plopped himself on the ground, panting from exertion. It was much too early for him to be moving around so much, despite the fact that exorcists healed faster than normal people[3]. Not quite like BaKanda, unfortunately. What Allen would give to be able to regenerate like his pony-tailed, straight-cut fringe rival . . .

As his stomach let out yet another desperate wail, the white-haired boy took on a depressed aura from his spot on the floor.

At that moment, Lavi decided his minute of waiting was finished.

In an annoyingly sing-song voice, the jovial red-head announced, "Your minute is up! Have another sandwich!"

However, upon seeing his scarred companion defeated, depressed, and unmoving on the floor, the bunny foolishly braved crouching down in front of the sulking teen. "Here you go! Turn that frown upside down!" he exclaimed cheerily, shoving a sandwich into his friend's face.

That was a mistake.

Lavi yelped, stumbling back and holding his hand to his chest in horror. Allen, meanwhile, snarfed down the ham and cheese delight, ignoring his red-headed friend's incredulity and shaking form.

"You nearly bit my hand off!" the bunny squeaked indignantly.

"Perhaps you should put the plate of sandwiches down then so I don't have to eat out of your hand?" offered Allen with a sniff, licking his fingers almost in remorse. He had to wait another agonizing minute before his next sandwich - how depressing!

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bite the hand that feeds you?" insisted Lavi, still shaken up as he counted his fingers to make sure he had all of them. He was missing an eye already - no need to add something else to that list!

Allen pouted. "I'm not an animal, of course no one's told me that!"

"Oh, yeah," agreed the Bookman Junior with a laugh. "How could I forget? Bean-sprouts are plants!"

"I'm NOT a bean-sprout! But if I was, I would be a bean-sprout about to acquire a taste for bunnies!"

Chuckling nervously, Lavi shrank back at the sudden dark aura surrounding his small friend. Not good - Black!Allen was appearing!

"Ahaha, that's real funny," offered the eye-patched exorcist, beginning to feel like a bunny caught in a room with a hungry fox. "Allen? Allen, why are you looking at me like that? _Allen_?!"

Link sighed as a rather girly scream left a certain Bookman Junior's lips. Glancing up from his half-finished report, the man found his famished charge had gotten a tight hold of Lavi's leg. The red-head was so freaked out at the possible prospect of Allen eating him, that he didn't appear to realize the Destroyer of Time was only tripping him up in an effort to get him to drop the plate of sandwiches in his hands. And, sure enough, the gamble worked, as the plate indeed dropped, following its holder's descent to the floor.

Allen, meanwhile, would have normally cackled at his victory, but he had more important things to do at the moment - like filling his empty stomach! Scrambling over a panicked bunny, the starving exorcist grabbed ahold of as many sandwiches as he could, stuffing them in his mouth quickly, much to his knawing stomach's pleasure. Unfortunately, his red-headed friend was quite perceptive and soon realized Allen's true motives. Before the white-haired boy knew it, he and the Bookman Junior were wrestling on the ground for the remaining sandwiches.

Well, despite his condition, Allen's left arm was still the stronger than Lavi. So, ha!

"You cheaaater!" accused the defeated red-head with a whine, finding himself flat on his back a minute later and nursing a few select new bruises.

"I can't cheat if there are no rules," retorted Allen happily as he finished his seventh and, much to his disappointment, last sandwich.

Before Lavi could argue, a certain, seemingly forgotten blonde man decided to cut in.

"I would expect you two are planning to apologize for breaking that plate?"

Silence fell as one emerald green eye and a pair of silver eyes moved from Link and to the floor, taking in the pathetic, shattered remains of the sandwich dish. Then, the two gazes turned to one another.

Lavi pointed a childishly accusing finger at Allen, much to the cursed exorcist's disbelief.

"It was Allen's fault!"

"You're blaming _me_?!"

"You're the one who pushed me over!"

"You can't prove that! And you're the one who fell over and dropped it!"

"As a gentleman, you should take responsibility for your actions!"

"A gentleman does not break his host's dishes!"

"Well, then you're a naughty gentleman!"

"WHAT?"

"A naughty, bean-sprout-sized gentleman!"

Allen didn't even bother correcting Lavi this time. Instead, the irate Destroyer of Time opted to lunge at the cackling bunny, much to Link's exasperation.

Really, what was he going to do with these two?

* * *

[ SOTF OMAKE 2 ]

After finding the broken dish and chaos that had ensued in Lavi and Link's joining Allen in the attic (as well as upon Allen's own request), Kira had dutifully put up a sign on the attic door.

"_Lavi and Link may not enter without Allen's permission_," a certain bunny read aloud, squinting at the messy scrawl. He scoffed, leaning back and shaking his head. "Two-spots, can you believe this?"

The addressed blonde man looked over Lavi's shoulder, a frown forming on his face.

"I had nothing to do with that incident, so why am I lumped in with you?"

The Bookman Junior took on an overdramatic offended look, as if not believing what he had heard. "You make it sound like such a horrible thing! I'll have you know, being _lumped_ in with me is normally a fun, entertaining joyride of excitement and-"

"Because of your and Walker's misbehavior, I am being obstructed from my duties," snipped Link, reddish eyes narrowed at Lavi. "The Inspector will hear of this."

And with that, the blonde man left the staircase.

"Go run to daddy then!" called down Lavi a few silent seconds later, grinning as he heard the unmistakable sound of Link tripping at his words. Snickering, the hammer-wielding red-head turned back to the door blocking him from his entertainment of the evening.

This simply wouldn't do!

The bunny reached out to take the paper off the door, only to pause as something caught his eye. Narrowing his emerald green gaze, he found that there was writing under the initial scribbled warning.

"_Lavi and Link may not enter without Allen's permission_," the Bookman Junior muttered. "_Failure to abide by this rule will result in_ . . . what? 'Will result in the unfortunate loss of balance'?"

The flame-haired teen laughed aloud. "Loss in balance? That doesn't even - ha!"

With a scoff, Lavi grabbed at the door handle. However, the moment he touched the metal -

"MREOOOW!"

The bunny let out a shriek as something small and furry came out of nowhere, attaching itself to his face like a fuzzy leech. Before he knew it, he was falling head over heals down the steps.

As the screams on the other side of the attic door dragged out down the stairs, the two youngest teenagers of the house were busy rolling around on the floor, clutching their stomachs as their laughs echoed throughout the home.

* * *

[1] "Link tends to point out Allen's eating habits, and when Allen counter attacks those accusations (by telling inspector that he eats _nothing but cakes_) Link explains that he's an adult, and his eating habits are his own business." (from dgraymanwikia) (DGM Manga: Chapter 138, Page 14).

[2] After recovering from anything relating to unconsciousness for long periods of time, it's always adviced to take consumption slow, for your stomach's sake.

[3] I can't remember where I got this from, so don't immediately trust me on it. Clearly though, exorcists are physically more capable than normal folks, due to their Innocence. I got from somewhere that it can speed up recovery time (in a rather miniscule way, mind you). Whatever the case, we are shown in the manga that our loveable, matyr-complex exorcists recover fast from injuries.

*Side Note - I realize that, at the beginning, my pronouns for Allen ("he") might have been repetitive. I wanted to keep from using his name, since Kira had always associated the name "Allen" with "the unconscious boy." Now awake, the name has a new association for her. I hope that makes sense, haha. It's like when you first meet someone, you associate their name with something - their looks, a quirk of theirs, their eyes. It's the way we remember people, no?

*Side Note 2 - Just for the record, any _omakes_ I write really happened, and may be referenced back to later :D WEWT.

* * *

**A/N** _: Oh, my God. You guys. That last chapter - only a few hours after I updated - so many lovely reviews amg. I love ya'll so much -criesforever-_

_Btw, I only reread this chapter four times, so there are probably mistakes. Feel free to point them out!_

_WARNING. THERE ARE SPOILERS IN MANY OF THE REVIEWS I RESPOND TO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!_

___**Sabet163** - a;sldkfjasdlfkj ;a;lskdjf __Thankyousomuchohmygawd _-meltsintoapuddleofhappiness- -incapableofanyfurthercoheren tresponse-

_**Illuminati-4** - I'm happy to hear it :'D I was beginning to wonder if spending the time to do the research was worth it, but if the readers appreciate it, I shall continue to war against my laziness to keep it up! xD Haha, believe it or not, the first time I thought of writing a DGM fanfic, it was going to be about Chikita and Lavi xD I came up with their interactions waaaay before I ever finished completing Kira's character concept! I'm excited to see more of him too, haha! Thanks for the review~!_

_**KhaalidaNyx** - Every time I see your username, I think of one of the main characters for the original series I'm working on - her name is Nyx xD -totallyofftopic- Yes, yes, poor unfortunate Lavi xD Your cat sounds funny! My two kitties are . . . uh, they have a few screws loose, lmao. One of them trips down the steps every morning whilst the other runs into the fridge in her eagerness to get fed. Yeup. Thank you very much, and thank you for the review!_

_**Kaite1211 **- Cats have an odd liking for sleeping on peoples' faces xD Yeowch! Happy to hear it! And yes, I actually found out that I never deleted the first 20 chapters of the old SOTF from deviantART (oops), and people have managed to find them, despite them not being in my immediate art gallery. . . (sneaky buggers xD). I can't seem to get links to work anymore when it comes to putting them in chapters, but I'll see if I can get a link up on my profile. Thank YOU for reviewing! :D I'll have to sneak a peak at your stories then ;D I've been looking for some well-written DGM fanfics!_

_**LadyMimi101** - Hi, again! :D I would have loved to continue the original version of SOTF, but due to my lack of planning in the more recent chapters, it was, you could say, falling apart. There were things I forgot to include in many chapters, and there were new ideas that I wanted to use and integrate in to make the overall story more interesting. After a year of lumbering through sporadic updates, I had to finally put my foot down and clean things up. I'm happy to say that I haven't regretted my decision - it's no longer painful to reread my early chapters, lmao! Oh gosh, Thrift Shop has been ruling my life. Worst of all, I downloaded the unclean version rather than the clean by accident, so I'll start muttering the lyrics to myself and a;sldkfj - Mother would not approve! x'D Haha, now you know why he screamed! Poor guy, probably didn't expect a fur-ball to be the first thing he saw when he woke up! I shall! *salutes* Thanks for the lovely review~!_

_**AuthorChick96** - a;sldkfj you're making me blush -rollsaroundhappily- Thank you so much! ;u; I'm thrilled you're enjoying SOTF!_

_**SakuraTenshi36092** - Have I told you how much I love your reviews? Because I really freakin' love your reviews :D WAFFLES. Gawd, I love how you catch my insinuations. You definitely hit the nail in the head with that catch =u=b I agree! That's a fantastic suggestion! I'll definitely keep it in mind as I work on those upcoming chapters :D And thanks for catching that "affectively" mistake; I corrected it! I also found that I forgot to add the little quip about Neah at the end of the blooper -flops- Oh well, all fixed now! Thank you very much for the detailed and thoughtful review! :D_

_**B3GIN** (chapter 2 review) - Haha, same! It's been a bit of a challenge reverting back to how she was before all the changes xD a;slkdjf I'm happy you got hooked - I love talking with you! ;u; Thank you very much for pointing out those tidbits! I've fixed them both =u=b And I'm happy you point out things like that, so don't worry, lmao. It helps me improve SOTF to make it easier to read! I hope I can continue to deliver with this rewrite :D Thanks for the review, B3GIN~!_

_**B3GIN** (chapter 3 review) - I LOVED writing it ;D I swear, the first time I saw Lavi tease Link, I knew a beautiful teasing friendship would grow. I bet Lavi causes so much chaos for Link behind the scenes, lmao! I'm happy that my hard work is showing, haha. I've put a lot of effort into being more informative this time around! Yeaaah, I think it's something not many people think about xD I had always thought Lavi just had multiple names for his Innocence and was surprised as well when I researched it. Leave it to Lavi to not only nickname people, but also his weapon! I think Chikita's omake is my favorite of the extras I've included so far LOL. Pfffff, Hara (my best friend in real life) nearly butchered me when she found out I'd butchered her mother tongue xD I figured I ought to explain it, since the spelling has come up before in reviews, haha. No kidding! Thank you very the lovely review once again, my friend! :D_

_**B3GIN** (this chapter review~!) - trolololol~ suffah like everyone else! D -shot- No, but really, I hate cliffhangers, but gawd I love using them, like wat xD Good! I'm glad that people are appreciating the extra infos :'D Lavi's eyepatch is like discussing the most recent chapter of DGM. Just. Circles of theories. Amg. That song is so inappropriate, but so evil in that it's catchy as you say xD Poor Kira, the profanity in that song would make her aghast! LMAO, just picturing Allen/Neah stealing her Grampy's clothes . . . xD pffffff. Indeed! Again, many thanks for reviewing!_

_**1storywriter** - Yay! Happy you did! :D Lol, I'M dying to see Allen, and I'm the one writing this all! xD Glad they are! I'm pleased that people are reading them :D Thanks for the review~!_

_**I've got Rythm in my Soul** - Bah, you just have to look really, really, REALLY hard through all the mess of OCs used for nothing other than to get into a (lolsingular, what am I kidding) DGM charas pants! -shot- I'm very happy you like Kira :D I always wanted to fit her into DGM, not blast her through the original cast, haha. In regards to what's being changed and what's not - the most I'm changing is maybe removing small unneeded bits (so far, only a flashback has been removed), but mostly I'm adding scenes and tying some more strings together in this version. There were loose ends I never attached before due to the slow updating, so I'm fix that this time around. So basically, same plotline, but with much, much more to offer! LOL, well, _technically_ speaking, Kira doesn't exactly have two fragments of Innocence - there's a huge story behind that which I can't wait to reveal :D To be honest, I'm quite positive a DGM chara would die if they had two Innocence - the strain would be too much, I think. I'm very pleased that you deem it creative though! BRILLO-PADS xD No worries either, Kira and Allen's attachment will be in this version! Haha, I enjoy drawing her weapons xD I don't upload enough pictures of her on deviantART; I ought to do that! Humm, have you seen the reference for Kira's Light Cannon (the blast thingy? xD)? I have a reference up on deviantART that details it - perhaps it would be easier to compare and contrast her Light Cannon and the Earl's epictastic BLARRG blast xD Allen will definitely be kicking ass! Yeah, that's one of the biggest things I work with. I like to keep things real - a successful relationship is often built off of the foundation of friendship. Friendship is a bond that grows as trust is given. Considering both Kira and Allen's situations (fighting for their lives, past issues with trust, etc), it's only natural that something like an upcoming romance would be a slow and gradual thing. Not a "we've known each other for a week (*cough*day*cough*) and amgyourshirtisofflet'smakelove." Just . . . no. xD Aha, I dunno about that. Kuraun Kuraun is very talented, and her ability to do that old "DGM fan finds herself in the DGM universe" in such a clever way is admirable! Our method of plot is different, whatever the case, haha. It'd be hard to compare each other's works! But thank you! xD And thanks for the absolutely lovely and detailed review~! :D_


	6. Chapter 6

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **mstarmitchell**, **Sinopaa**, **April Marciano**, **KilalaReno**, **uranx**, **Taz-Sae**, and **chained2love** for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

"As a gentleman, you should take responsibility for your actions!"

"A gentleman does not break his host's dishes!"

"Well, then you're a naughty gentleman!"

"WHAT?"

"A naughty, bean-sprout-sized gentleman!"

Allen didn't even bother correcting Lavi this time. Instead, the irate Destroyer of Time opted to lunge at the cackling bunny, much to Link's exasperation.

Really, what was he going to do with these two?

* * *

[ Chapter 6 ]

_As We Reveal Ourselves_

"Comfort in expressing your emotions will allow you to share the best of yourself with others, but not being able to control your emotions will reveal your worst." (Bryant H. McGill)

* * *

Warm, midday sunlight filtered brokenly into the old barn, spotlighting clouds of dust waltzing lazily through the dry air and glowing warmly against mountains of scattered hay. A plump pigeon cooed softly from its perch on the rafters, eyeing its two visitors with a lazy, doe-eyed gaze. The visitors, meanwhile, a certain bunny and cloaked girl, were picking their way through the decrepit building, keeping a careful watch for the occasional hidden shovel, tool of trade, or plank of wood. Scuttling echoed throughout the quiet barn, and the startled squeaks of mice were heard with every step they took.

A particularly loud squeal rose up, and both teens paused to look down.

"So this is where Chikita got that mouse," concluded Lavi, eyeing the little rodent that was glaring indignantly at him. Apparently, it wasn't too happy about nearly being stepped on. He carefully moved around it, but not before he childishly stuck his tongue out at the still chattering creature.

Kira, missing the little episode, hummed in affirmative. However, she paused as what he actually said caught her attention. "Huh?"

The red-head next to her sniggered, "The little devil decided to give Two-Spots a present."

A light laugh left Kira's lips. "That's quite unusual."

Lavi arched a scarlet eyebrow, which looked quite odd considering his eyepatch. Trying not to giggle at this observation, the cloaked girl clarified, "Chikita doesn't often give people mice."

"Oh?"

"He must have done something that she thought was appropriate to award him for," Kira speculated, stepping over a shovel. "She does seem to be smitten with him . . . maybe it's his cooking?"

The tall boy snorted, "Two-Spots' cooking tames even the devil!"

"Chikita's not a devil, Lavi," Kira insisted with a pout, leading the boy around a pair of buckets. One of them was suspiciously dented, as if it'd been used to wack some unfortunate soul.

"My dear, innocent Kira," chided the Bookman Junior, taking on a voice of greatest sincerity, "you say that because that little demon likes you! You have yet to see the darkness dwelling deep within her soul - the evil, sadistic pleasure she has when she steals and gnaws on my cherished belongings; the horrible glee she takes in jumping on my head and scaring the living daylights out of innocent ole' me!"

Now it was Lavi's turn to pout as Kira's laughter drifted through the barn, slightly muffled, but still heard. The pigeon in the rafters flapped its wings indignantly at the noise.

"Chikita only ever teases those she loves," the cloaked girl claimed, settling into a giggle. "Plus, she finds your reactions immensely entertaining!"

"Sadism!" exclaimed Lavi, pointing an accusatory finger in the air in emphasis, staggering as he nearly tripped over a hoe. "Sadism, I tell you!"

Kira hid her grin behind a cloaked hand, unable to keep her amusement quiet between Lavi's over-exaggeration and his stumbling. What a blooming relationship that boy and her cat had!

"What's this barn for, anyway?" inquired her red-headed guest suddenly, successfully regaining Kira's ever-wandering attention. "Doesn't look like you've had livestock in here for years," he added, eyeing the dusty and decrepit stalls to their left. The wood for the gates of the cubicle-like areas looked to be falling apart, and the feeding troughs were empty, aside from mouse droppings that is. Clearly, they hadn't been used in quite a while. Plus, the hay . . . "What's the hay for?[1]"

"Grampy said he used to have cows," answered Kira thoughtfully as they passed by. "A horse too, but they were all gone before I got here, aside from Bernie. And the hay is for Chikita. She likes to play in it."

Lavi went quiet for a moment. Why buy so much hay for a cat? To play in, no less? True, this place would definitely be quite the paradise for the creature, but to spend so much money each year buying fresh hay . . . it didn't quite add up. Unless the old man was loose in the head. But considering his conversations with the patriarch, such a conclusion wasn't believable at all.

Wait. Did Kira just say they had a cow named 'Bernie'?

"Bernie?" echoed Lavi.

"She was a really, really old cow. And a grumpy one at that."

The Bookman Junior gave Kira an odd look, curious but confused. "Why the name 'Bernie' though? Wouldn't 'Bessie' fit better for a female?"

"She didn't like the name 'Bessie,'" explained the cloaked girl with a smile. "Grampy says she'd never respond to anything but 'Bernie.' I didn't get to know her too well though, since she died a few days after I started living with Grampy."

The eye-patched teen next to Kira hummed thoughtfully, seemingly amused by the story of Bernie. He pushed aside his musings of the hay for the moment, opting to weedle information through light conversation instead.

"So it's just you and the old man on this once-upon-a-time farm?"

"And Chikita."

Lavi twitched visibly, and Kira grinned from behind the shadows of her hood.

It was then that they finally reached what they were in the barn for. The red-head of the duo shifted behind his counterpart, looking curiously over her shoulder as the younger girl reached out for the door situated at the very back of the barn.

"Storage closet?" the bunny inquired, green eye examining the space around the door. It was a built-in area enclosed by walls. The wood was newer compared to the rest of the weather-beaten barn, less faded and worn.

Before responding, Kira poked Lavi with her elbow, silently insisting he give her more room. "Something like that," she replied, opening the door. "Except we put extra provisions in here, not tools."

"I noticed that much," chuckled Lavi, flashing a glance back behind them at the minefield of hay. Yet another broken hoe poked out nearby as if to emphasize his observation.

The cloaked girl hummed in agreement as she finally jimmied the door open. Peeking through the shadows and cobwebs, she found nothing more than a few crumbs on the built-in shelves. Kira visibly wilted. She was going to have to go into town to buy more groceries now, thanks to Allen's oddly ferocious appetite. Two days awake, and he'd already eaten everything they had! With a sigh, the teenage girl turned around, only to find Lavi crouched down next to her. He was examining the wall, his one visible green eye narrowed from beneath his mess of scarlet hair. Kira half-mindedly noted that he was missing his headband, likely the work of Chikita.

"Neh, Kira, what's with these scorch marks?" Lavi asked, tilting his head. "This is the third set I've seen."

Confused and curious, Kira crouched down as well. With her blue-eyed gaze following Lavi's gesturing hand, she soon found the mark of his inquiry. A fairly large, black scar of burnt wood stretched across the bottom wall, meeting the ground and disappearing under the scattered blanket of hay below their feet.

"Huh, that's odd," she admitted, finger brushing against the charred wood before shifting some of the hay at her ankles. Sure enough, the black continued into the floor, and Kira was a little alarmed to find that her hand reached through the wood paneling at some point, meeting earth. Pulling her hand out, she rubbed the dirt between her fingers before turning to Lavi. "You said this isn't the only charred patch?"

Lavi, now standing, leaned against the barn wall, ignoring the creak of protest of the old wood. "There was one in the third left stall, another in the adjacent corner."

Frowning, the cloaked girl got up, brushing off the hay that stuck to her clothes. "I never noticed them before," she stated, eyeing the barely visible patch in the corner as well. The hay hid it quite well, now that she thought about it. "They've faded pretty well into the wood, so they aren't recent."

"And they're far apart," added the red-head next to her, watching her closely.

"Which rules out a single fire," confirmed Kira, ignoring the prodding feeling that Lavi was testing her. "Well, Grampy used to have lanterns hanging in here. Maybe they fell during a storm?" she offered.

If her answer didn't satisfy him, the eye-patched boy didn't show it. He shrugged, pushing himself off the wall. "Mah~ It's probably as you say," Lavi trilled in his light-hearted manner. "Ready to head back? Two-Spots and Beansprout are going to get lonely if I'm gone too long!"

With a small laugh, Kira agreed, "Surely!"

"Well then!" Lavi pivoted on one foot and motioned with a hand in a flourishing manner, bowing as he grinned at her cheerily, "After you, m'lady!"

When the bunny and cloaked girl returned to the farmhouse, Kira was considerably mortified to find Allen and Link at the door, bags upon bags of groceries in-hand.

"You- you really needn't have! You're our guests-"

"It's alright, Kira," spoke up Allen, a happy smile greeting her at the front door as he shifted the large bag in his arms. "If we'd had our way, we would have bought it all, but your grandfather wouldn't let us," he laughed sheepishly. "He pitched in for most of the cost."

"Well, that's good!" exclaimed the young girl, visibly relieved. Lavi, meanwhile, wrapped an arm around Allen's shoulder and gave him an affectionate noogie, ruffling his messy white hair, much to the smaller teenager's displeasure.

"You sneaky little bean - creeping off for food whilst I was with Kira! Hey, did you get our stuff?"

"I'm not little, nor am I a bean," growled Allen, swatting the jovial red-headed bunny away before turning to Kira with an amusingly serious expression. "My sincerest apologies for leaving you to deal with Lavi alone. It must have been quite unpleasant."

Lavi made a distinctly girly, offended noise, almost as if mimicking an indignant wife. "Why, I _never_!"

As the two got going into their usual spits, Kira laughed at their antics. It amazed her how open and comical her guests were; the constant teasing and bickering, it was like watching a family. She enjoyed it immensely and always felt warm and light around the mysterious travelers. The affect they had on her and her Grampy's household was truly like nothing she'd felt before, almost like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Even Grampy seemed to be affected, his old eyes regaining a playful twinkle whenever they were around.

"Walker, Junior, please move yourselves. You're obstructing the doorway."

"Sorry, Link!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Watching Link slip by the two teenagers, one with an apologetic look and the other with a goofy grin, Kira noticed two large bags by the doorway. Including the one Link had just brought in.

"How much food did you buy . . ?"

"Enough to feed an army. More specifically, an Allen," chortled Lavi, dodging a sharp elbow from the aforementioned white-haired boy. "We're going to have a feast tonight!"

"A feast?" echoed Kira, not having been informed of this. She wasn't against the idea - no, not at all - but it was going to be a lot of cooking.

And, as if reading her mind, Allen spoke up. "Link is doing all the cooking," the cursed boy informed Kira cheerfully. "It's our thanks to you and your grandfather for taking care of us! Especially considering our, ah, inconsiderate arrival . ."

"We're good at that," added Lavi, fixing his eyepatch with a grin. "Barging into people's lives announced, usually with a little chaos on the side."

"You're not helping, Lavi."

"Can't deny the truth!"

"It's quite alright," quickly cut in Kira, not wanting her guests to feel as if they were a bother. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like," she added adamantly, meaning every word.

"Which again brings me to my earlier question, which was so inconsiderately ignored by our lovable Beansprout," sighed Lavi, ignoring Allen's vehement exclamation at his hated nickname. "Did Two-spots and you retrieve our stuff from the hotel? Cuz I need my back-up uniform - old one's in tatters."

"Uniform?" repeated Kira curiously.

Lavi and Allen flashed a look at each other, much to the younger girl's discomfort.

"Er, yeah, we wear uniforms on our travels," explained Allen lightly.

The cloaked girl in front of the two boys tilted her head, but before she could inquire any further, Link's voice echoed out from inside the house.

"Lavi, please bring Walker to the attic and keep an eye on him; I'd rather he not be around the food while I prepare it."

A certain white-haired boy appeared to visibly wilt at the underlying accusation, while his older companion laughed.

"Shall we restrain the hungry dragon in the tower?" inquired Lavi, locking arms with a depressed beansprout.

"I believe that's a good idea," agreed Kira, hiding her smile behind a cloaked hand.

* * *

A mere ten minutes later, and Kira was already questioning calling their decision a "good" idea. No, any idea was questionable when it came to being stuck in a room with a certain rabbit lacking entertainment.

"I'm boooored."

"Lavi, that's the fifth time you've said that."

"Actually, it's the fourth, because the first time I said I was tired," corrected the red-head, as if such a distinction was of utmost importance. Allen, unfortunately for him, didn't think as much, as the cursed boy gave his companion a blank look before returning to a more productive activity - counting his pocket change. It was an incurable habit from his days with his Master[2]. However, Lavi wasn't done with his complaining.

"Beeeansprouuut, don't ignore me!" whined the eye-patched teen, waving his hands in the air. "I need entertainment!"

"I could fetch Chikita, if you'd like, Lavi," offered Kira innocently, turning a page in her book.

Lavi paled in response. "Ahaha, no, no, I'm good. No need to summon the demon, haha . . ."

"Where is Chikita, anyway?" inquired Allen in a half-minded manner, moving a guinea to his left. "She's not often away from your side, Kira."

"Napping," answered the cloaked girl shortly, enjoying her book too much to take on conversation.

". . . _where_?" asked a suddenly concerned bunny.

"Anywhere dark and comfortable."

"That's . . . reassuring."

And silence fell again. Kira, laying comfortably on her bed, turned another page in her mystery novel, whilst Allen began to mutter about missing a guinea as he eyed the floor around him. Lavi, meanwhile, still sprawled on his back on the floor, listened within the torturous clutches of boredom to the clock tick-ticking away somewhere in the room. He had yet to locate it, though he suspected it was somewhere amongst the chaotic pile of storage boxes farther off. Nonetheless, its sound was unimpeded.

_Tick-tock._

_Tick-tock._

A bird cooed outside, likely a pigeon from the sound of it.

_Tick-tock._

_Tick-tock._

Dust was drifting through beams of fading sunlight trickling into the room. Lavi idly watched the little specks twirl and descend.

_Tick-tock._

_Tick-tock._

"BORED!"

Kira jumped in shock, fumbling to keep a grip on her book. Lavi muffled his cackling to snickers, but failed miserably at the look on the young girl's face.

"For Christ's sake, Lavi!" exclaimed Kira, only just recovering.

"Neh, Kira, how many of those cloaks do you have?" asked the bored bunny out of nowhere, eyeing the black cloth hiding away Kira's features. Sadly, the addressed girl didn't respond, instead opting to recover her place in her book, clearly miffed at the interruption. "Cuz, you know," continued Lavi, not missing a beat, "Two-spots said you carried the Beansprout -"

"The name's ALLEN, stupid Lavi."

"-up the stairs when he was unconscious. And he was bleeding like a stuff pig too, I bet, so that cloak must have needed to have been washed; but Two-spots-"

"I have more than one cloak, Lavi," deadpanned Kira, finally relocating the paragraph she left off at and looking down at the red-head on the floor.

"Oh? How many?"

"Enough that you won't be able to steal them all."

"Is that a challenge?" trilled the eye-patched teen, appearing scarily interested all of a sudden.

Kira's blue eyes narrowed. However, before she could respond, Allen cut in.

"Lavi, let Kira be."

"Now, now, Mr. Naughty Gentleman-" the cursed teen twitched violently, "-you can't deny that you're curious about it too!" insisted Lavi, rolling onto his stomach. "I mean, she wears a cloak everyday, she must have quite a few of them! Unless . . . she wears the same one every day?"

"I'd smell if I did that, Lavi," retorted Kira with a sniff.

"And where would you store them anyway? You don't have a closet - the dresser?"

Suddenly, a smile graced Kira's lips from the shadows of her hood.

"Yes, actually," she replied. "The bottom drawer."

Allen looked up at her curiously, whilst Lavi, too eager to question Kira's sudden openness, immediately scrambled up and dove for the dresser. Excited to find an answer to the many curiosities of the cloaked girl and chase away his boredom, the Bookman Junior yanked the bottom drawer open, emerald eye wide -

"BMREOOW~!"

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"

As a panicked bunny tumbled to the floor, ecstatic Chikita attached to his face, Allen turned to a considerably satisfied Kira, unable to keep himself from grinning.

"Dark and comfortable places, eh?"

"Indeed."

* * *

Lavi hadn't been kidding when he said dinner that night would be "a feast." The dining room was dressed to approval, her Grampy's favorite table cloth decorating the table and their best silverware out and glowing in the lamplight. Piling along the length of the flat surface were dishes upon dishes - three roast chickens, two pots of beef stew, five salad wedges, two dozen home-made butter rolls, three platters of arranged veggies and fruits, and loaves of warm bread of different kinds. To say the household was ecstatic, most notably Allen and Chikita, would be an understatement.

Kira had never seen so much food in her life! And it all smelled absolutely delicious, which didn't help her patience as her grandfather blessed the food. Luckily, Grampy wasn't one for superfluous, long prayers, and soon everyone tucked in, grabbing as much food as they could before Allen attacked.

And boy, did Allen attack!

Kira eyed the cursed boy's growing pile of plates in a mixture of awe and horror. But really, where was he putting it all?! It certainly explained why Link had insisted that Allen have an empty seat on either side of him!

Elsewhere, at the head of the table, Grampy and Lavi had started up a discussion about the Thirty Years' War, or more specifically, Sweden's intervention in it; whilst next to Lavi, Link was keeping his sharp, red-hued gaze on the roaming Chikita, wary of the sneaky cat's interest in his chicken leg. The feline had already snagged Allen's whilst the boy was busy stuffing his face with beef stew, and Link was determined not to let it happen to himself.

Noticing this, Kira rubbed her foot against the carpet beneath the table, creating a delightfully distracting noise to her little kitty. Unfortunately, the cat's preference for food out-ruled her interest in the noisy rug, and she was soon on the prowl again.

"I must say, Miss Kira, this cat of yours is quite the little thief," commented Link as he ate a butter roll, eyes once again on the silent, moving shadow.

Kira smiled in amusement from beneath her hood, nibbling at her apple. "Yes, she's quite the character," she laughed shortly. "She's never one to miss taking advantage of opportunities presented to her."

At that moment, a small, black paw darted out, snatching away Lavi's butter roll. The chattery bunny didn't even notice, too intent in his talk of Gustavus Adolphus.

"Yes . . . quite the character," agreed Link, his gaze shifting away as Chikita disappeared behind the living room couch to eat her steal. "Most intelligent creature I've come across," the blonde man added idly. "She has a curious marking too, that cross on her chest."

Have you ever been eating with a group of people with the room filled with chatter and noise? Well, imagine that, and then a sudden, abrupt silence. So quiet, in fact, that you can hear a certain thief shifting about in the other room.

That was exactly what happened following Link's observation.

Even Allen had stopped eating, a forkful of chicken paused at his open mouth. The cursed boy turned wide, gray eyes to Link, stunned that the man had been so blunt in his suspicions. It was true, the white mark upon Chikita's chest _had_ been the topic of he and his companion's discussions more than once, but such a method of determining their conclusions was quite straightforward. Turning his gaze to the cloaked girl in the seat closest to him, the white-haired teen found that Kira appeared suddenly uncomfortable. While he couldn't see through that cloak of hers, her posture suggested she was neither understanding what Link was insinuating nor the reaction it just garnered.

"How long have you had Chikita?" continued Link, unperturbed by the deafening quiet.

"Quite a many years," replied Grampy. The spark of enjoyment Allen often saw in his eyes during his discussions with Lavi had completely disappeared, leaving behind nothing but steel in their old blue gaze. "She is part of our family and will remain as part of our family."

Firm words. Allen put down his fork, uncertainty tickling his mind. It appeared as if Kira's grandfather understood who they were, or at least, what they were looking for. He had never said so outright, but from the looks the old man had flashed at them, he could conclude as much. Now with such an affirmation, it was clear that if Chikita truly was Innocence, it was going to be much harder to retrieve her and complete their mission.

Now, to say Kira was confused would be an understatement. She was at a complete loss in the sudden turn of conversation, and she wasn't enjoying not knowing what was going on.

"Ah, I almost forgot," spoke up Grampy, his hackles lowering, much to Allen's relief. "Due to your injuries and the stress of your arrival, I believed I should wait to ask you until you were healthy. Now that you are well, what exactly happened to put you three youngsters in such a state? If it's something we should be wary of, I would like to be informed of it."

And, just like that, the tension in the air alleviated.

Allen flashed a glance at Link, and only once he received a barely perceivable nod did he answer the patriarch.

"We were ambushed," replied Allen, giving up for now on finishing his meal. Explaining their situation and purpose in the best way possible was a priority right now, as careful wording was needed to hopefully gain an agreeable response from their hosts. "Ambushed by Akuma."

Surely enough, Kira was the first to speak, and with the same confusion as many others upon first being told of the Earl's ungodly machines.

"Akuma?" the young girl echoed, almost as if tasting the unusual word. "You mean demons? They exist?"

"Not the kind of demons you're thinking of," spoke up Lavi, eyeing his plate as if he'd lost something before looking up with a knowing, patient smile. Allen noted idly that it was the same one he'd received from the red-head upon being told of Noah's Family. "The Akuma Allen speaks of are deadly weapons - weapons used by the Millennium Earl."

The poor girl being explained to looked even more lost than before.

". . . Earl?" she repeated tentatively, likely picturing the earls of England. Lavi's next words, however, successfully squashed the images going through her mind.

"Yeah, the Earl of Millennium, a big fat-ass with a twisted personality," Lavi informed her a tad too cheerfully through a mouthful of chicken.

Allen sweat-dropped. "Lavi, don't talk with your mouth full," he chastised, not even bothering to note the red-head's language.

Kira titled her head slightly, rather like how her cat did. "So," she started, collecting her thoughts, "you were ambushed by Akuma, weapons used by a - er - fat-ass earl? Are you serious?"

Much to Allen's amusement, Link choked on his potato, obviously alarmed by Kira repeating Lavi's bad language.

"Very serious," replied the cursed boy, lip twitching against a smile as he tried to echo the solemnity of his words. Looking into the shadows of Kira's hood, he could just distinguish the outline of her chin, and the slight shine of her blue eyes in the lamplight. "The Millennium Earl is a deceitful being who takes advantage of those who have lost someone precious to them."

Allen paused at this point, gathering himself. From the silence meeting his words, Kira was expecting an explanation. As much as he would have preferred to keep the gory details to himself, he knew she'd ask for them regardless.

"He tricks a person into calling their deceased loved one's soul back to earth where it is imprisoned in the skeletal form of an Akuma. He then forces the newborn Akuma to attack the person who called them back, ordering them to wear their skin. The soul of the Akuma is imprisoned and powerless, as it is controlled by the Earl to do his bidding."

Silence met his words once again. It appeared as if the young girl was trying to wrap her mind around what he'd just explained to her. Allen didn't have to see her face to know she was feeling sick.

"Why did the Akuma ambush you?" Kira finally asked, finding her voice.

"Because they're looking for the same thing we are," answered Lavi, leaning back in his chair and looking at Kira with his single, emerald green eye. "Innocence."

Allen about jumped out of his skin at the sudden screech of wood that penetrated the air. Looking to the head of the table, he found that Kira's grandfather had pushed his chair back and was getting up stiffly.

"I do believe it's time to retire for the night," he asserted gruffly.

And that was the end of their discussion.

Kira bit her lip, wanting to ask more but thinking better of it. When Grampy said it was time for bed, it was time for bed. Following the others, she stood also, albeit more quietly than her grandfather, and picked up her plate. As she paused by the kitchen door, she looked back, only to feel wary as the narrowed eyes of Link followed her grandfather out of the room.

At that moment, Chikita appeared, the signs of butter roll prevalent upon her silvery whiskers. She trotted happily over to Kira and rubbed up against her cloaked leg, much to the younger girl's delight. Kira smiled as she bent down and stroked the cat with her free hand. However, despite the little cat's reassurance, it still felt as if the atmosphere of the household had shifted. Kira was reminded once again of the boundaries between her and her guests - the priority of family. Grampy had been clear enough in his convictions. It made her uncomfortable, as she had just begun to feel like they were all like family.

"Miss Kira?"

The cloaked girl jumped as a voice behind her caught her attention. She turned to find Link standing rather close, a good few inches taller than her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"If you find anything strange or unexplainable, please inform us of it immediately," the blonde man stated simply.

Kira's eyes narrowed as the underlying authoritative tone. The added "please" didn't take away from the clear "you really must" that she heard instead. The young girl felt suddenly intimidated, outnumbered by the guests in her living room and the curiosity and unsaid words sparking from them all. Her cloak wasn't a shield against this. Only her Grampy was, and he'd left the room.

"Come on now, Link," spoke up Allen as he gathered his dishes. Kira felt relieved at his peace-calming voice. "It's been a long day, and everyone's tired," he added. "Kira's grandfather is right. We should get to bed now."

Link said nothing, though he appeared to accept Allen's words. As the blonde man turned to head over to his sleeping bag by the couch where Lavi slept in the living room, Kira offered him a thank you. Even if the meal hadn't ended quite so well, it had indeed been praiseworthy.

"Thank you for dinner tonight, Link."

"You're quite welcome."

And with that, the adult left the dining room. Kira's shoulders sagged a bit, feeling a little more comfortable now; at least, until a hand landed on her shoulder, effectively spooking her. However, the young, cloaked girl relaxed as she realized it was only Allen.

"Would you mind if I helped clean up?" he asked politely.

Eyeing the pile of dishes in his left, gloved hand, Kira didn't hesitate to accept his offer.

"Yes," she replied, smiling a bit, "that would be much appreciated."

With that said, the two brought in the many dishes and silverware into the kitchen and set to work. Lavi tried to saunter in a couple times, insisting he'd like to help as well, but after a few teasing remarks and a pot nearly becoming intimate with his head, the bunny decided he'd rather live another day and go ahead to bed. The kitchen was too small to have too many people in it anyway, and it appeared Link had deduced as much, as he hadn't come back in to offer help. Kira didn't mind this, though, as the blonde man had done all the cooking. It was only fair someone else did the dishes.

"I'm sorry about Link," said Allen suddenly, making Kira look up from drying her plate. "He means well, in the end."

Kira hummed softly in response, putting aside the dried plate in her hand and picking up a wet bowl. She was rather pleased Allen had decided to wash the dishes, as it meant she was left with drying. Drying didn't require her to roll up her cloak sleeves.

"It's alright," she finally reciprocated. "Grampy's always been a little secretive with Chikita anyway. She's a part of the family, so I guess he felt that her presence was being questioned."

Allen smiled a little at her words. Family had always been an interesting term in his life, as he'd never really had one. There'd been Mana, but only Mana. The circus hadn't always been friendly, so he didn't consider them anything near what he figured a family would be. And General Cross . . . well, his Master was a demon. A real demon. An absolute devil, that despicable womanizer. Leaving him with all his debts, disappearing in such a ridiculous way-

The cursed boy quickly shoved away the rising, dark mutterings in his head and decided to get back on topic. Right, family. No, wait, not family. It had been Chikita. Yes.

"She really is quite a mysterious kitty," he commented, able to get a chuckle out. "She was the first - er - second animal to ever touch my left hand."

Speaking of which, his left hand was rather troublesome with fragile dishes. He reminded himself to be gentle as he rinsed and scrubbed.

"She's never been the kind to reject a person who's different," said Kira, interrupting him from his thoughts.

Different. That was right. Allen flashed a gray eye glance at the girl next to him, her features hidden away by her black cloak.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you hide yourself behind that cloak?"

Kira stiffened immediately, frozen in place, a plate half dried in hand.

"I-I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to!" spluttered Allen quickly, trying to apologize and save his dish from crashing into the sink at the same time. Thankfully, it seemed as if Kira was assured by his words, as she started drying again, though a tad stiffly.

Allen sweated bit at the silence that followed, but calmed when he realized Kira's guard had dropped again. The sound of rushing water, clanking dishes, and cabinet doors clunking shut filled the quiet, along with the occasional cricket song outside.

"I guess it's only fair," spoke up Kira suddenly, breaking the silence. The white-haired teen next to her paused in rinsing a cup to give his undivided attention to her, trying not to look too curious. "Link told me of your cursed scar, so . . ."

The girl took a deep breath, as if preparing herself. Allen watched her silently as she set down her washcloth and newly dried bowl before turning to face him.

"From what I remember, I was born with an odd skin disease," Kira informed him softly, pulling back her hood with one hand.

Allen's gray eyes widened. Long, dark brown hair fell down from the hood, laying in curtains down her shoulders, the bangs framing a blue-eyed, dark-skinned face. But it wasn't this odd mix of characteristics that threw him off - it was the large, black blotch of skin that marred her right eye and cheek. It was almost as if someone had splashed mud on her, only to have the color of the wet dirt forever imprinted upon her flesh.

"This . . . is only a small amount of the black that covers my skin . . ."

It took a moment for Allen to take in what he was seeing, but once he had, he realized that he really ought to say something. The young girl before him was nervous, rightfully so, and he felt his gut plummet at the almost frightened look in her bright eyes.

"It's - I don't think it's contagious," she stammered after a moment, clearly worried about his reaction. "I mean, Grampy hasn't gotten it from me, so-"

"No," interrupted Allen quickly, not wanting her to get into a worried frenzy. "No, it's not - I mean, you said you were born with it?" he managed, hoping he could calm her down. Questions usually worked in this sort of situation.

"I . . ." Kira paused, as if collecting her thoughts. She clasped her hands nervously. "I think I was born with it. I don't remember not having it," she finally reasoned.

"And there's no way to cure it? You've seen a doctor about it, right?"

"No doctor we've seen knows what to think of it," Kira murmured. "The last one, our current doctor, says that it's permanent, a part of my skin itself. Like I have black skin and dark skin at the same time."

"How do you know it's a skin disease?" offered Allen tentatively. "Does it hurt? Or . . .?"

The young girl frowned a bit. It was rather odd to see her facial expressions so clearly, no longer hidden behind a swath of shadows.

"It doesn't hurt, no. But it does feel rather odd."

Well, the cursed boy didn't quite know how to respond to that. One thing he did know, however, was that this girl - this girl only a year younger than him - was at a loss about her situation. It reminded him of his days at the circus, always hiding his left arm. That old, wrinkly, red form of his arm . . . But he _knew_ what his arm was and is.

"Well," Allen said after a moment, scratching the back of his head. "I think maybe one of the doctors back at our Headquarters may know what it is," he inquired thoughtfully. And if the medical department didn't know what is was, there was always the science team . . . that that would definitely be a last resort. Images of experiments gone wrong flashed through Allen's head, and he sweat-dropped. However, his moment of exasperation disappeared as Kira looked up at him with hopeful, blue eyes.

"R-Really? You think so?"

"Walker, it's not appropriate to invite strangers to the Black Order."

The two teenagers whirled around at the new voice, immediately finding Link standing at the doorway to the kitchen. Allen felt the slightest prickle of irritation as the former CROW's reddish eyes narrowed at the sight of Kira's face. The girl flinched and immediately lowered head, knowing it was too late to seek the sanctuary of her hood.

"Why not?" retorted Allen, frowning at the man's refusal. "I doubt they'll mind if it means helping someone out. I actually know someone from the science team that could-"

"The Black Order is not a charity service," interrupted Link firmly, his sharp gaze now upon Allen. The cursed boy tensed, but any response he had seemed to catch in his throat. However, it wouldn't have mattered, as Kira slipped on her hood once more.

"It's alright, Allen. It's not that big of a problem anyway," she murmured softly. Immediately after these words, she walked briskly passed Link and to the stairs that led to the attic. Allen watched her go, wanting to call after her, but not able to find the words he was looking for.

The cursed exorcist looked back to Link to find the blonde inspector eyeing a recently entered Chikita. The cat was looking up at him with deep amber eyes. If Allen didn't know any better, it almost looked as if the feline was observing Link, rather than the other way around. Finally, the small creature twitched her whiskers and left, trotting after Kira's wake.

Allen clenched his fists.

"Was that really necessary?" he demanded of his watcher. "She's obviously been troubled by whatever it is that's turned her skin black, and you're saying she can't have a chance to fix it? We can help her!"

"As I said before," replied Link calmly, his gaze stern, "the Black Order is not a charity service. The science department has enough to handle with the War going on. They need not be distracted by a mere, unknown skin disease."

And with that, the former CROW turned around and returned to the living room. Allen stood alone in the kitchen, staring blankly at the spot the man had just been in.

Helping someone . . . was a distraction? But weren't they fighting this so-called Holy War to save humanity?

The Destroyer of Time looked down at his left hand, clenching it once. The hard skin of his fingers rubbed against his equally hard palm.

The more he thought about it, the more he became troubled. It was true, really. The Order was created to fight the Earl, to stop him from destroying their world. Recruiting exorcists, finding Innocence - weapons - before the Earl did, combating and trying their best to thwart the Noah Family's plans. Everything about the Order was just that. The Holy War.

Not helping a girl figure out her skin disease.

And Allen, well . . . he was fighting to save the souls of Akuma. To save his friends. His left hand for the Akuma, his right for the humans. That was what he swore to Crown Clown.

Allen sighed, letting his left hand fall to his side. Pushing aside his contemplations, the Point Breaker put away the last of the dishes before retiring for the night himself. He slipped into the living room and grabbed his suitcase, which he was quite happy to have again. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it earlier, but he was glad Link had had the idea to go back into town and retrieve their belongings from the hotel. Finally, he could wear his own clothes again!

Trying his best not to wake his comrades, Allen moved around their sleeping forms. Lavi gave a loud snort when he accidentally brushed the red-head's sprawled out arm, and Allen looked up to see if he had woken, only to see a very comfortable Chikita curled up on the Bookman Junior's stomach. The white-haired teen held back his smile of amusement as he escaped the room, ignoring a maybe-sleeping Link (sometimes Allen had the feeling that the man faked sleep to see if he did anything wrong without him watching - not that he'd mention as much), and moved up the stairs. Upon reaching the attic, still trying to be as quiet as possible, he noticed Kira was already curled up in her bed, quilt covering her head and hiding whatever she was thinking about. She was too quiet to be asleep, no laboured breathing from her still form.

Trying not to dwell on how upset she probably was, Allen laid down on his makeshift bed on the floor, a little farther off from Kira's own bed. He looked up at the wood ceiling and rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes with the heel of his hand.

Today had started out so well. They'd gotten in touch with Komui through Lavi's golem early that morning (Timcanpy's records were being examined back at the Order, much to Allen's discomfort, so he was without his curtain-eating friend[3]). Afterwards, he and Link had retrieved all their stuff from the hotel, informed a panicked Finder that they were indeed quite alright, and had returned with a marvelous load of food. One minute, everyone had been cheerful. The next, Link had decided to get straightforward; and, just as things were calming down, the man went further and butted into his and Kira's conversation. Now, not only was the patriarch of the house upset, but so was his granddaughter. And they still couldn't confirm if the family cat was Innocence or not.

Seemingly simplistic missions had a tendency to become quite stressful, and this was indeed one of those cases. Even with the knowledge that even thinking such a thing could be bad luck, the cursed boy laying upon his quilts couldn't help but think, _what more could go wrong?_

* * *

[ SOTF OMAKE 3 ]

Beaaansprouuuut~!"

"The name is ALLEN. Spell it with me: A-L-L-E-"

"I have a request!" trilled Lavi, interrupting without a care as he leaned heavily on Allen's shoulder, much to the smaller boy's agitation.

"What is it, Lavi?" the cursed boy sighed, trying not to fall over.

"I want you," started the hammer-wielding exorcist, "to find Kira's stash of cloaks!"

" . . . no."

"But Allennnn!"

"I will not."

"You're the only one allowed to stay in her room though! You could easily snoop around while she's asleep and-"

"There's no way I'd do that!" exclaimed Allen indignantly, baffled by Lavi's silly request.

Lavi, meanwhile, pouted. So much for coercing the kid to do his bidding. Oh well, when thwarted, tease!

"Neh~ Don't you think it's curious how you're still sleeping in her room and not down here with us?" asked the bunny idly, motioning to the living room they were lounging in.

Allen arched a white eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Two-spots and I have to sleep down here in the living room," explained Lavi slowly, as if talking to a child. "You are still sleeping in Kira's room, yet you've pretty much healed, no? When I was healed, I got moved down here."

"I don't understand where you're going with this, Lavi," replied the white-haired teen, suddenly feeling wary. He was beginning to wish Link hadn't left him alone with his jovial comrade. "But I'm quite sure it's not good."

"My point is," continued Lavi, whirling the cursed boy around for the helluvit, "you haven't been kicked down here! Why do _you_ get to sleep with Kira? I wanna sleep in the attic toooo! It's no fun down here with grouchy Two-spots!"

Allen, currently being twirled, made an exasperated noise, trying vainly to get the whining rabbit off of him. "How am I supposed to know? Stupid Lavi, stop spinning me!"

It was at that moment that Kira walked in, black cloak swept back slightly from the wind of the two boy's antics. She stared, trying to understand what on earth was going on. It wasn't every day she walked into the living room and saw her guests twirling around like ballerinas, after all.

"Lavi, you're making me dizzy!"

"I really, really wanna know whyyy!"

"_Let go!_"

"Help me understaaaand!"

"Uh, hello?"

"KIRA!"

The cloaked girl yelped as Lavi released his grip on Allen and dove for her.

"Wha-what is it, Lavi?" asked Kira, currently pushing away a clingy bunny.

"Why does only Allen get to sleep in your room?" whined Lavi, putting on the kicked puppy show. "You kicked me down here the moment I woke up!"

Kira stared at him from the shadows of her hood, blue eyes blinking once.

"Well, Grampy said he didn't want Allen anywhere near the kitchen, lest he eat all our food."

There was a moment of silence as the young girl's words sank in, and then a certain red-headed bunny busted out laughing, while his white-haired, walking garbage disposal of a friend face-faulted in mortification.

(*Note: The living room connects to the entrance hall, and then the dining room. Those are the front two rooms of the house. Then behind the dining room is the kitchen, and between the kitchen and steps Grampy's room is entered through a door next to the steps. Grampy's room sort of wraps around the back of the steps and situates also behind the dining room. Think "square house," but with Grampy's room taking up more space than the other three rooms of the first floor, and the stairs sorta in the back middle part. Therefore, not only is Allen the farthest from the kitchen when in the attic (aka: Kira's room), he would also have to creep down the old creaky steps and pass Grampy's door to sneak into the kitchen for midnight snacking. Strategizing!Grampy at your service, everyone :D )

* * *

[1] Hay can last up to a year or two years, depending on weather and the conditions of the barn. Hence, Lavi would naturally find it odd that so much hay would be in a barn that is not only in poor condition, but also lacking livestock.

[2] According to Chara Gray (DGM Fan book), Allen has a habit of counting his money, especially after he wakes up every morning. Poor kid probably lost a lot of dough to Cross whilst he slept D:

[3] Tim chews on curtains :D (DGM Manga: Chapter 30, Page 7).

* * *

**A/N**_ : Many apologies for the late chapter! I slacked off this Spring Break and spent a lot of the time cat-napping, ahaha . . ._

_This chapter is the longest I've written so far. 7000-somethin' words, ya'll. I figured I should own up since I was late in updating. Hope it satisfies for now, though there are likely errors since it's so long and hard to reread, aha . . Either way, things are going to pick up now. Next up, a visit to town, and my old readers know what that means~!_

_Also, if you have any questions, are confused about something, don't be afraid to ask! I always respond to reviews ;3_

_**KhaalidaNyx** - It indeed sounds cool! I only knew the meaning of "Nyx" as "night" xD Khaalida sounds awesome! Haha, yes, I love Black!Allen. Indeed! Although, it's been revealed (specifically in Reverse Novel 3) that Allen's original name was "Red" (that's what he was called by the circus, since he didn't have a name) and then Mana named him "Allen" after "Allen the dog" died (that was considered the first hint that Mana was insane). Also, Cross mentions that Allen didn't call himself "Allen" the first time he met him (one of the recent chapters of dgray). Now I want to know what Allen was called 35 years ago D: Was he "Allen" back then? Hummmm. I love Allen's childish side! :D And you're 100% correct, they ARE just teenagers. And teenagers act like teenagers, even if they have to be all tough sometimes to fight off scary ass monsters, a crazy ass Noah family, and a crazy ass Order. :'D Indeed they do - I think the CROW and others treat Allen that way because they fear the Noah inside of him. Those who don't know him well would have higher suspicions of him being controlled by the Noah Memory, I would think. I found it! I made Allen say "were" rather than "was" - oopsie xD Thanks for pointing that out, and thanks for another thoughtful review~!_

_**1storywriter** - If I've planned this out correctly (and in a way where I won't change my mind last minute, haha), this chapter (chapter 6) is the last one at the farmhouse. They should be going to town in the next chapter ;D Yes, I will! I hope my rewrite will be detailed and well-explained this time too =u=b Thank you for the review~!_

_**Sabet163** - Thanks! :D Thank goodness, haha. I try to keep the "funnies" to the "DGM-style," and, as you say, not make it like a "crack" fanfic xD LOL, yeah, I never watched Death Note, so when people started telling me about the Kira in that anime, I looked it up and was amgwat xD I think there's a Kira in Bleach as well! Thank you very much! ;u; And thanks for yet another lovely review~!_

_**I've got Rhythm in my Soul** - Yeah, aren't I weird? xD I dunno, I like replying to reviews! Not only do I get to give my thanks, but I also end up meeting some great people :D Haha, I'm glad you think so! Yes, I've definitely been adding in more DGM-style humour. I wasn't very confident in writing from anyone but Kira's point of view when I first started SOTF those three or so years ago, but now, I'm a bit braver, lol. Maaaajor drainage, haha. LOL, I'm horrible when it comes to spoilers and teasers. I love throwing out those breadcrumbs! I shall look forward to your theories, whenever you voice them ;D I don't have much up, honestly, but I'll be posting more Kira and Chikita pictures this spring break (hopefully!). BRILLO-PADS! xDD Ahahaha, you're welcome! LOL, gawd, yes, you describe it well, pffff. And seriously, I've seen that 'amgyourshirtisofflet'smakelove' thing so many times, it hurts. Mah brain. Wat. LOL, well, I can't deny that I'm flattered you feel so, that's for sure! I enjoyed that sandwich scene too much xD Looking over it, it does feel like a necessary addition! Thank you, and thank you for reviewing again! I love reading your reviews xD_

_**Kaite1211** - I'm pleased you enjoyed Chapter 5! I sure enjoyed writing it xD Also, if you do manage to get to the old version (which is still hiding SOMEWHERE on my deviantART) there's only, ah, 20 chapters, I think, that are up. I never did upload the entire story on there, haha. Anyway, thanks for the review~!_

_**IShipElectricChairs** - [offtopic]: I LOVE your penname! xD [backontopic]: I'm happy you do! And I'm glad that the omakes are a hit so far, haha. I can't wait to reveal more! Thanks for reviewing~!_

_**Sinopaa** - I'm planning to upload the entirety of the old SOTF onto another website, preferably deviantART; 20 chapters are already up on there, I just have to add the other 40, haha. Sorry about the disappearing act :'D I'm happy you think so! Yes, I love Native American culture ;u; My grampy was half Cherokee, so I enjoy learning a lot about them :D No kidding! Or portray it accurately, for that matter. This time around, I'm going to try and add more of the culture in, though Kira only remembers snippets about it from her mother. Thanks for the review~!_

_**B3GIN** - To be honest, that first meeting between Kira and Allen gets me nervous as well! xD I think it's because the first impression is, well, the first impression. A first meeting with someone is the starting point of a relationship, and that starting point goes in a direction that is directly influenced by what happens between the two meeting people - what actions are taken and what is said. It's a pivotal point, really, because that new person can change your life forever, or you could just walk by them and lose whatever future would have happened if you stayed. (Now I'm rambling! xDD). I'm glad I'm doing well with interactions! That's one of the trickier areas for fanfiction, haha. Thanks, B3GIN, and thanks for reviewing! :D_


	7. Chapter 7

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **Marionette-Rui**, **SasuSakuxRoyAi**, **Skittles-Obsessed-Wolf-Girl**, and **Panthershade** for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

Today had started out so well. They'd gotten in touch with Komui through Lavi's golem early that morning (Timcanpy's records were being examined back at the Order, much to Allen's discomfort, so he was without his curtain-eating friend[3]). Afterwards, he and Link had retrieved all their stuff from the hotel, informed a panicked Finder that they were indeed quite alright, and had returned with a marvelous load of food. One minute, everyone had been cheerful. The next, Link had decided to get straightforward; and, just as things were calming down, the man went further and butted into his and Kira's conversation. Now, not only was the patriarch of the house upset, but so was his granddaughter. And they still couldn't confirm if the family cat was Innocence or not.

Seemingly simplistic missions had a tendency to become quite stressful, and this was indeed one of those cases. Even with the knowledge that even thinking such a thing could be bad luck, the cursed boy laying upon his quilts couldn't help but think, _what more could go wrong?_

* * *

[ Chapter 7 ]

_Introduction_

"You can't avoid war forever. Preach all you want. Preach peace and love and tolerance until you inevitably get dragged into our chaos. Welcome to reality." (TSFE)

* * *

Running. Running. Running.

The wind whipped through the young girl's tangled, dark brown hair, and her breath caught painfully in her lungs. Her toes and heels slapped against the stone below, and she turned yet another corner.

Run away.

Run away.

Why was she running?

Was there something chasing her?

Kira didn't know - all she could fathom was that she needed to run. She needed to run as fast as she could and get away from - what?

Violent explosions rocked the sky. Kira yelped as she tripped, the earth bucking wildly beneath her. She scrambled back up, only to set her frightened eyes upon tall grass set aflame, brilliant red and orange tongues of fire licking eagerly at the night.

When had she gone to the wheat fields? Hadn't she just been in town?

Thunder rumbled through the air, and Kira felt the malicious presence nearing. Bare feet slipping in the mud beneath her, the brunette staggered off again, stumbling over stalks of torn up wheat and ground.

And then there was light. The scream threatening to rip from her throat was choked down as lightning cracked through the atmosphere, casting a sharp white flash across the torn field around her - and that was when the shadows jumped forth. They lunged, and the teenager felt fear finally burst forth from her air-deprived lungs -

She was in the dining room. It was quiet, aside from the slow _tick-tick-tick_ing of the grandfather clock nearby.

_Tick, tock._

_Tick, tock._

"That must be a good book."

"It's rather boring, actually."

_Tick, tock._

_Tick, tock._

"This coffee is rather cheap, _mitt barnbarn_. Why would you buy such a brand?"

Kira looked up from what she was reading - _Pride and Prejudice _by Jane Austen[1]. Her grandfather was making a funny face, having taken a sip from his flowery, porcelain teacup and clearly not pleased by what his tongue had been greeted with.

Wait. Why was he drinking coffee in a teacup? Better yet, where had the coffee come from?

_Tick, tock._

"Grampy, we don't have coffee," Kira voiced, tilting her head in confusion and arching a brow. "You never drink coffee."

"Of course I do," retorted Grampy, turning his frown from his teacup and to his granddaughter now. "I've always had coffee in the morning," he insisted.

The teenager stared at him, stumped.

_Tick, tock._

Did her grandfather overdose on his medication, by chance? Kira sighed, deciding to worry about it later. She wanted to . . . what had she been doing?

_Tick, tock._

The young girl stared down at her empty hands. She had had something in her grasp earlier, she was quite sure. A book, right? What book had she been reading?

_DONG!_

The clock struck five. Such an early morning.

She needed to find her book.

_DONG!_

Taking no note of the clock ringing in her ears, Kira's blue eyes scanned the room for the item of her inquiry. She soon spotted it far off to her right, lying on the couch in the living room all the way across the entrance hall. Bernie was there too, that old cow, munching on Lavi's headband.

_DONG!_

Standing up from her chair, Kira ignored old Bernie and went to retrieve her book, only to pause in the entrance hall just before she entered.

**DONG!**

The living room.

It was empty.

No couch, no book. No Bernie or chewed-on headband. All that remained was an empty room with papered walls and a few scorch marks here and there.

**DONG!**

Dumfounded, the teenager just stood where she was, stock-still in the entrance hall. A meow interrupted her absolute confusion, however, and upon looking down, Kira found Chikita gazing up at her. The little cat's eyes were a bright blue, rather like her own eyes, now that Kira thought about it. Funny, she thought Chikita had amber eyes.

"Neh, Chikita, what happened to the furniture?" asked Kira, crouching down to look at the kitty.

The little feline's whiskers twitched before she opened her mouth, revealing a bright pink tongue and snowy white teeth.

"I ate it."

Oh. Well, then.

Kira sighed. "You shouldn't eat the furniture, Chikita," she chastised, patting the cat on the head. "Why would you do that, anyway?"

"The guests want to take me away," replied Chikita matter-of-factly, giving a quick lick to her chest and ruffling the white fur of the cross-shape there. The black feline looked back up, reasoning, "So I ate the furniture they sleep on."

Take Chikita away? Kira stiffened. Their guests were going to take her little friend away?

"Most intelligent creature I've come across."

The voice made her jump, and Kira whirled around to find Link staring down at her. When had he gotten so tall?

"She has a curious marking too, that cross on her chest," he continued, turning his red-hued gaze to Chikita. The little cat hissed, arching her back.

"I don't care how much she interests you," snipped Kira, crossing her arms. "She's _my_ friend, and _you_," she emphasized, poking the blonde man in the chest, "can't have her!"

"How long have you had Chikita?"

"I . . ." the young girl paused. "A long time - what's it to you?"

"If you find anything strange or unexplainable, please inform us of it immediately," the man stated simply.

"Why, I don't think-"

"The dishes are done, Kira!"

The brunette looked around Link's tall frame to find Allen holding a dish in one hand and waving at her with the other. Was it just her, or was the emerald cross on his left hand glowing through the fabric of his glove?

"Thank you, Allen!" Kira called back. "We're about to eat dinner, so you'll need to go back to the attic."

"Ah, about that," laughed Allen sheepishly, rubbing the back of his white-haired head. "Your cat ate the entire top floor."

Kira stared at the older teenager aghast. "What-?"

At that moment, Chikita let out an ear-splitting yowl. Kira turned around just in time to see the cat grow to an impossible size and lunge -

Thunder shook the ground - lightning split the sky - she was running through the back streets of Newton-in-Furness - a turn here - a dead end! And then the shadows burst forth, suffocating her -

"Kira! Kira, wake up!"

Something firm grabbed her shoulder. Kira immediately jerked away, sitting up quickly. Looking around wildly, she held a hand to her chest, trying to calm her fluttering heart. It was only as the haze of her dream drifted away that the young girl met two pairs of eyes - Allen's silver and Chikita's amber.

A few panicked seconds later, and Kira recognized her surroundings - her room. The brunette calmed, leaning back against her bed's headboard, holding a hand to her forehead.

So Chikita hadn't eaten her room after all.

. . . What - WHY would she have even _believed_ such a ridiculous thing?! Chikita couldn't eat her room, let alone furniture!

"Kira?"

Oh, Allen was looking at her worriedly. Had she said something?

"Huh?" she blurred, still pulling herself back into reality.

"You were having a nightmare," explained Allen slowly.

"I was?"

"Well, you screamed . . ." the cursed boy trailed off, leaning back as he began to question his assumption. However, his words jolted Kira's memory of her dreams.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered, embarrassed. "Did I wake you?"

"I was already awake," answered Allen reassuringly, smiling at her concern. "But are you alright?"

Kira paused, recollecting her thoughts. Her white-haired guest waited patiently, sitting on the side of her bed, whilst Chikita moved to curl up into Kira's lap. The young girl stroked her little feline's fur, instantly feeling much, much better.

"Yeah, I think so," she finally answered.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Kira looked up at the boy in surprise. Recognizing her reaction, Allen rubbed the back of his head in a nervous gesture - the same one in her dream, Kira noticed with a concealed twitch.

"Ah, I mean, it always helped me when I had nightmares to talk to someone," clarified Allen, immediately picturing his beloved foster father. Admittedly, Mana could be rather odd sometimes, but the man always knew how to cheer him up.

"I don't really remember the nightmare anymore," Kira replied sheepishly, fisting her covers. "And the rest of it was . . . ah, too strange to mention."

Allen raised his eyebrows, but inquired no further.

"Some fresh air ought to do me good," added the brunette, untangling herself from her quilt. The cursed boy nearby her moved off the bed, giving her more room.

"Sounds good," agreed Allen, now turning to tidy up his makeshift bed. Kira had disappeared behind her curtain to get dressed, not bothering with her own bed's mess. Allen, having gotten used to the sloppiness, politely did not comment on it. He had offered to make it before, and that offer had been received with a blunt, but amused, comment of, "You're not my maid, Allen."

Consequently, he had kept that in-mind, as now that he contemplated it, Lavi would have had a field-day if he found out about it. Allen could already hear the maid jokes, and it made him hang his head in exasperation.

Suddenly, he remembered this morning's breakfast (well, his morning snack, that is). Allen had briefly chatted with Kira's grandfather, and amongst the mentionings of some festival or another in a nearby town, the old man had thrown out a complaint.

"Your grandfather said something about needing some more medication," the cursed boy commented, flashing a glance at the curtain Kira had disappeared behind. He could just barely see the girl's shape behind it, rummaging around.

"He always waits till last minute," came a sigh-filled response. "Guess that means I'll be going into town . . ."

"Link and I could come with you, if you'd like," offered Allen, recognizing a not-so-excited tone of voice from his host.

To his surprise, the brunette peeked out from behind the curtain, blue eyes wide.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure," confirmed Allen, giving her a smile. Clearly, Kira didn't like going alone to town; though the reason for that was beyond Allen. "We can multi-task since we still need to get information on the Innocence we're searching for," he concluded, finishing his bed.

Kira paused, her eyes going a little distant. Allen glanced back at her, noting her hesitancy.

"Um, Allen . . . are you and Link friends?" the girl finally asked, fisting the curtain in her hand a bit.

Well, that was a question out of nowhere. Caught off guard, it took Allen a bit to form an appropriate response. Were Link and him friends? Allen could certainly consider the blonde man a friend, though he wasn't quite positive if the feeling was mutual . . . Link had definitely lightened up since they'd first met though. Hell, now that the cursed boy thought about it, he had opened up to the man back in Paris, telling him briefly about Mana[2].

"Well," the Destroyer of Time started carefully, "on a certain level, I guess."

Wow, this was more awkward than he'd thought.

"In truth, he's sort of supervising me."

Allen froze. Why had he said that?

"Supervising? Why?"

Kira was giving him a funny look, and the boy resisted the urge to shift nervously. He didn't want to lie to the girl, not after all she'd done for him and his comrades. It simply wouldn't be right, would it?

Thankfully, however, his host seemed to catch on to his uncertainty.

"N-nevermind, Allen," she said quickly, disappearing again behind the curtain. "We'd better hurry if we want to get into town by noon."

Allen exhaled in relief. He didn't know how he could have explained the complexities of his situation to Kira, especially with her limited knowledge of the basics. Locating his money, as he did every morning, the cursed boy was just putting it away when Kira stepped out, dressed in the simplistic clothes of a blouse and pants. The dark-skinned girl headed for her mirror, but paused.

The thought 'should she take her cloak?' flashed through her mind, and Kira froze in shock at such hesitancy. Without further ado, she grabbed it, slipping her arms through the sleeves and tying the strings at her neck.

Just because Link and Allen knew about her condition and accepted it made no difference in the townspeople's reaction. No point in egging on trouble any further than she already had over the years, entering into town against the people's comfort. Honestly though, it wasn't her fault she needed to supply food and medicine for her grandfather. If they were so worried about her possible "contagious skin disease," they could just stay away. Stay away, like always . . .

Allen was at the attic door, waiting for her. Kira noticed he was wearing a dress-shirt, not the cotton shirts he and Lavi had been borrowing, as well as a black coat slung over his arm. Had these clothes come from one of the suitcases he and Link had recovered from their hotel?

Kira, pulling herself from her thoughts, kept her hood down for now and took the polite boy's offer to head downstairs first, Chikita following at her heels.

"Do you think Lavi will want to come?" she asked over her shoulder to Allen, having exited the stairs.

"Depends where."

Kira about jumped out of her skin, as the voice was practically right in her ear. Her head snapped to the left to find Lavi leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.

Where had he come from?[3]

Her surprise at his out-of-nowhere appearance was replaced by nervousness. However, that prickle of anxiety disappeared quickly, as the eye-patched teenager didn't comment on the black patch of skin on her now visible face.

Funny that the ones that "fought demons" accepted her skin problem, and yet her own townspeople didn't.

"We're going into town to get Kira's grandfather some medication," announced Allen, appearing behind Kira. The aforementioned girl noted half-mindedly that her white-haired guest was slipping on that strange, red-trimmed black coat she'd seen on him and Lavi the first night they'd arrived. This one, however, clearly was a second coat, as the one before it had been ruined, as far as Kira knew.

"In that case," started Lavi, a grin appearing on his face, "sure! I'll come with ya'll - just lemme grab my-"

"Oh, no, you don't, Red-head!" exclaimed the aged voice of Grampy from the living room. Lavi's posture went from lax to stiff, having de ja vu of Bookman as Kira's grandfather limped up to them through the kitchen, the staff he used when overly stiff (or needing to wack someone) in-hand. "You're helping me rebuild a new rocking chair after that little stunt you pulled yesterday!"

Lavi deflated, reassured that he wouldn't be getting a panda-jiji[4] kick to the head today, but still disappointed nonetheless. "Aw, come on, Gramps! It's not my fault that little devil cat dodged out of the way in time!"

At that moment, as if summoned by his very words, Chikita appeared, pouncing out from the shadows of the stairs and landing on Lavi's spiky, red-haired head. The startled bunny didn't even have enough time to let out a shocked yelp as the small, black feline snatched up his green-blue bejeweled, black headband[5] in her teeth and bolted off. Allen and Kira laughed aloud as Lavi jetted after the cat, letting out a string of multi-language and colorful curses as he did so. Grampy, meanwhile, stiffly followed, yelling after Lavi to not break anything else or they'd be "having rabbit stew tonight!"

It wasn't long before Link appeared, muttering about the racket. After a quick breakfast (much too quick for Allen's tastes, though he wouldn't say that outloud), the trio set off to town, taking a lone dirt road lined with wheat fields. The sun's warm rays beamed down happily, giving everything a bright glow, and a warm breeze tickled the tall, golden-colored grass around them. A completely different scene from the dream Kira had had . . . what had that scene been?

Kira removed the uncertainty from her mind. If that scene, whatever it had been, opposed the peaceful surroundings around her, it must not have been a good one. Therefore, she turned to Allen, who seemed quite at ease compared to Link's silent, constant observation of their surroundings. Soon, she and the fellow teen had struck up comfortable conversation, and in no time her white-haired guest had explained the basics of the Black Order.

"So," started Kira, clasping her hands behind her back, her whicker shopping basket bobbing behind her, "Exorcists of the Black Order are people who are chosen by God to hunt Akuma?"

"Yes," confirmed Allen. "We also have the duty to find Innocence, which is the second reason we came to Newton-in-Furness."

"Okay, but what exactly is Innocence?" asked Kira curiously. She couldn't think of anything that could be called "Innocence," aside from the obvious, nor had she heard of anything like it. "And why is everyone searching for it?"

"Innocence are fragments of what we call 'the God Crystal,'" explained the white-haired teenager, remembering Komui's own explanation to himself so long ago. "These fragments were scattered all over the earth after the Great Flood."

"You mean 'Noah's Flood?'"

"Yes, and each Innocence fragment has a kind of power that can only be controlled by Exorcists. The power of the Innocence can destroy Akuma and save the souls trapped within them."

"What does it look like? Innocence, that is?" continued Kira, still unable to picture the object of their discussion. So far, all she could fathom was pieces of broken glass - something fragmented, at least.

"Well, Innocence's raw form is like . . ." Allen paused, trying to find a way to explain. "It's sort of like a glowing jewel surrounded by moving, glowing gears?" he tried, sweat-dropping at the funny look he received in response. "It's hard to explain," he ended hastily.

"So where's your 'glowy jewel?'" inquired Kira, unable to hide her amusement. "D'you keep it in your pocket or something?"

Was it just Allen, or was Link repressing a snort?

Trying to regather his wits, Allen muttered something unintelligible under his breath before lifting his left arm and removing the white glove hiding the segmented flesh beyond his wrist. Kira's eyes immediately locked onto the emerald green cross gracing the back of his hard-skinned hand.

If she'd had any doubts about the trustworthiness of her guests' words before, those doubts were long gone.

"Only its basic form is a . . . 'glowy jewl,'" echoed Allen, his lip twitching as he resisted the urge to smile. It really did sound funny. "Innocence can take the form of many things - from jewelry to basic house-hold items." _It can even take the form of animals_, he added silently, thinking better than to say so outloud. No need to bring back the tension from last night.

"But your's is your arm?" concluded Kira, blue eyes moving from his black limb to his gaze. She suddenly looked uncertain. Allen couldn't blame her - his arm wasn't exactly "visually pleasing."

"The rarest form Innocence can take is that of a part of the Exorcist's body," stated Allen. "Mine is my entire left arm."

Kira eyed his arm again for a moment.

"You . . . did you lose your left arm to get it?"

Realizing the subject of her weariness now, Allen shook his head, gesturing a negative with his hands. "No, no. I mean, I don't think so," he added hastily, rubbing the back of his head. "I was born with it."

Kira seemed to relax a bit at that. Losing a limb to receive a weapon hadn't been a good image in her head. But then, having your arm as a weapon in the first place was sort of scary too, wasn't it?

"What's it like?" she asked suddenly.

"Pardon?"

"Like . . . what's it feel like," restated the cloaked girl, motioning to his left arm. Allen had now rolled up his uniform sleeve a bit, letting her examine his limb more clearly.

"It used to be quite stiff," answered the cursed boy, deciding not to get into the mess that was his Exorcist career. While he hadn't lost his arm to receive his Innocence, he _had_ technically lost it before it had evolved into Crown Clown. "But Innocence, in choosing its Accommodator and becoming an Exorcist's weapon, has a synchronization, or bond, with its wielder. Since my bond with my Innocence has grown, it's become less stiff. My left arm is basically like any other left arm, except, well, visually."

"And in how it destroys monsters," added Kira, eyeing him as if he'd forgotten something important. Allen gave a sheepish smile in response.

Kira suddenly turned to Link, who had been walking silently alongside them.

"What's _your_ Innocence look like?"

Link seemingly hadn't expected to be addressed, as he looked back at her for a moment, taking in her question with blank eyes.

"I am not an Exorcist, Miss Kira," he replied finally.

Kira blinked once, remembering Allen's earlier words. Hadn't he said Link was his supervisor? So did Exorcists have supervisors? Why would they need supervisors?

Before she could ask, Link continued, "Only Mr. Walker and Lavi are Exorcists."

"Lavi's an Exorcist?" repeated Kira, surprised. Though, really, what was so surprising about that? It explained why Allen and Lavi had had matching uniforms unlike Link that first night she'd met them. Or, well, met Link, that is. Lavi and Allen had been unconscious.

And to think, she'd actually thought Link was some kind of nobleman, and Allen and Lavi his traveling companions! That conclusion was waaaay out the window now.

Allen's response broke her from her reverie.

"His weapon is a mallet," explained Allen, amused by her reaction. "I'm sure you've seen it? Chikita's tried to steal it once or twice."

"That little toy hammer?" guessed the brunette, now _really_ confused. She couldn't help but picture her little kitty gnawing on the object. If anything, it was more like a toothpick. How could that be a weapon?

"It grows into a much larger hammer," the cursed boy next to her chuckled, as if reading her thoughts. "Ridiculously large, actually," he added, sweat-dropping.

"Well, then," muttered Kira, taking in everything that had been explained thus far. She really didn't know quite how to take in some of the details, but they would have to do for now. She had more questions! "So about this Millennium Earl," continued the young girl, "Is he after the Innocence fragments to use against the Black Order, your organization?"

"Not exactly," replied Allen. "Like I said, Innocence can only be controlled by Exorcists; and since it destroys the Earl's machines, the Earl looks for Innocence to destroy it."

"Why is the Black Order and Millennium Earl fighting against each other?"

This time, Link's interest seemed to perk slightly, as he flashed a look over to the two, still dutifully keeping pace at his charge's side.

"There are a couple of reasons," said Allen thoughtfully. "We fight to stop the creation of Akuma by the Earl and the destruction the Earl has planned for humanity."

Kira frowned. "I don't understand though. Why does the Earl wish to destroy humanity?"

A kind of quiet settled. Allen appeared to be thinking over her question carefully - and he was, in fact. Many times, he had questioned the entirety of the Earl's true motives. He was an eccentric character - absolutely mad, really. However, in light of the Noah Family and recent events, he was quite positive in his conclusion.

"Hate," God's Clown finally replied. "The Earl has a deep hatred for Innocence and humanity as a whole."

Kira resisted the urge to put forth another inquiry of "why." It wasn't the most light-hearted of topics, and she figured what ever deep, dark history the Order and Earl had between each other, it wasn't pleasant. And yet, "why" continued to childishly circle in her thoughts. What had happened for the Earl to acquire such deep-seated hate? There was always a starting point for war, wasn't there? Surely, this couldn't be like her storybooks where a character was just pure evil; there had to be a cause for it, right?

So deep in her thoughts, Kira barely realized in-time that they were closing in on Newton-in-Furness. Quickly, she pulled her hood over her head.

"We're here," she announced quietly.

The young girl could practically feel the prick of Allen and Link's stares, obviously confused by her reaction. Though, by the time the two concentrated on what was ahead of them again, Kira felt a new onslought of gazes - hostile and unfriendly - as they entered the small town. It only got worse as they went through the busier parts, passing by a small bakery and shoe stall amongst other such shops.

"Fresh bread! Warm and filling!"

"Cheap and affordable! Try our newest pair of traveling boots!"

"You must be mental if you think _that's_ cheap!"

Led by their cloaked host, the exorcist and his watch kept close, though it wasn't entirely necessary to do so. The small crowd of townsfolk was keeping well-away as they went about their shopping, shifting to keep a comfortable distance between themselves and the moving trio.

"Kira . . . why are the townspeople like this towards you?" asked Allen, becoming unnerved by the whispering and indignant noises by those around them. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to negative attention, not at all. But for once it wasn't his white-hair and curse in the spot-light. It wasn't him that was the focus of attention, but the cloaked girl next to him.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Kira who replied, but Link instead.

"Fear of the unknown," the blonde man concluded, turning a red-hued gaze to his charge. "Though you are cursed, Walker, people can wrap their minds around such a condition. If anything, they may merely perceive your mark as a scar and nothing more. However, as for Miss Kira, they know nothing of the skin disease she carries."

Well, he hit that nail on the head. The rest of the trip to the town pharmacy was spent in contemplative silence.

* * *

Kira's shoulders were hunched over, and she was trying her darndest to appear as small as possible. Luckily, today wasn't too busy an evening; after all, it was festival day down in Floraston[6]. However, regardless of there being fewer people, it still felt like a year had passed by the time she and her guests were out of the line of unwelcoming stares. They finally reached their destination - a small, red brick building, the pharmacy. Only once they'd entered did Kira relax.

"Kira! It's a pleasure to see you!"

Kira unveiled her face from her hood and looked up to see one of the few people in town that accepted her. Doctor Phillip stepped forward with great strides and scooped her up into a bear-like hug. The young girl laughed through the tight grip of her doctor, trying not to make a face as the strong smell of antiseptic upon his clothes attacked her nose, followed by the underlying scent of morning coffee.

"It's been weeks since you last visited," continued the doctor, finally letting go of Kira. "I'm guessing the old man needs more medication?" he suggested in his booming, but kind, voice.

Kira smiled and nodded, brushing herself off. "Yes, sir. He waited till last minute again."

The bald, white-coated man laughed. It was then, however, that he noticed her companions. Doctor Phillip raised his bushy blonde eyebrows in inquiry. "So who are the newcomers? Have you made some friends?"

"Oh!" Kira blushed, having forgotten to introduce her companions. She motioned to each of them in-turn. "This is Allen Walker and Howard Link. They're travelers and currently guests at our house."

Doctor Phillip's eyebrows didn't lower. In fact, his brown irises almost appeared to lock onto the shining silver cross on Allen's breast.

"Travelers, hm?" echoed the bald man. "I thought I heard a rumor about your kind of folk being in town."

"Nice to meet you," offered Allen, overlooking Doctor Phillip's choice of words and giving a small polite bow of his head. He figured the man was probably a friend of their caller, though he didn't remember reading about any other Order supporters in his mission assignment folder.

Both Allen and Link shook Doctor Phillip's large hand, and then, along with Kira, they were led off to sit on a bench whilst the doctor disappeared behind the counter to get Grampy's medicine. Heeled feet tapped against the floor as nurses moseyed about and patients checked in. Pharmacy terms were thrown left and right, and medicines were traded off constantly.

"Just a little dab of this-"

"Turning to ash? Well, stay away from fires, you nitwits!"

"Burns? Oh, that wheat fire reached your lands?"

"Yeah, he slipped while using a kitchen knife, silly bloke."

"Wait till the infection dies down, okay?"

"The shadow attacked me! It had huge claws and teeth-"

"Oh, quiet. Everyone knows that shade[7] is a tiny little thing. Hasn't hurt a fly from what I've heard."

"Well, you heard wrong!"

"I guess you believe it glows blue too, huh?"

Every so often amongst the chatter, gossip, and business, a nurse or two would slip by and converse lightly with Kira for a minute before being pushed back to work. While Kira didn't know the names of most of them, they certainly seemed to know her well. Likely, they'd met her as a baby, or while she'd been too young to remember their faces.

"Is Doctor Phillip your family doctor?" asked Allen, offering conversation as another nurse left to the beck and call of a patient, muttering something about "superstitious fools."

"Yes," confirmed Kira with a small smile, fiddling with the basket in her hands. "He and my mother were friends. The doctor only moved to Newton-in-Furness a few years ago though."

Allen made an "oh" sound. He had half the mind to ask Kira about her parents, but thought better of it. She lived alone with her grandfather, after all, which pretty much insinuated . . .

An indignant tug gripped his left eye.

Kira was watching a few townsfolk meander in, muttering about the "shade of Newton" again. It was at that precise moment that her ears caught the oddest sort of sound coming from her right. The young girl turned to look at Allen, only to find herself gazing upon his left eye - the eye that was currently bleeding into blackness and forming a strange, red target-like pupil. Were those golden gears spinning in front of the organ?

-what?

"Allen?" asked Kira, becoming nervous. "Maybe it's just me, but your eye is-"

"Akuma," interrupted Allen in a whisper, his voice urgent and cursed eye locked upon one of the nurses - a woman of about twenty-six with blonde, wavy hair. "Kira, we need to get out of here. Now."

"Akuma?" echoed the addressed girl, blue eyes wide as she looked around herself anxiously. She honestly had no idea what an Akuma looked like. "Where?"

Link, overhearing the teenagers' conversation, was now attentive, his reddish gaze sternly examining the area around them. But it seemed as if Allen was losing his patience, not keen to wait for his two companions to find the target of his eye. The Destroyer of Time stood up abruptly, preparing to grab Kira and drag her out if he must. However, at that moment, Doctor Phillip returned. Kira, without a thought, immediately got up and walked over to the bald man, accepting the medicine from his hands gratefully and tucking it into her basket.

"Thank you, Doctor! I'll tell Grampy-"

A loud _chink! _assaulted Kira's ears, and something hard pressed against the side of her skull. The cloaked girl's eyes widened in shock, and without moving her head, her blue-eyed gaze shifted to her right. A blonde nurse was standing next to her . . . with a GUN morphing _out of her face?!_

"**Han**_d ove_r th**e Inn**ocen_ce!_"

And with those words, Kira Renee Malcolm's life changed forever.

* * *

[ SOTF OMAKE 4 ]

"It sounds ambiguous, if you ask me."

"No one's asking you."

"Agh, damn, 'Sprout. That hurt. Right here," Lavi patted the spot over his heart, flinching in mock-emphasis.

"For the last time, Lavi, my name is ALLEN," sniffed a certain cursed boy, crossing his arms. He had been napping - that's right NAPPING - for the first time in ages. And his ecstatic, eye-patched friend had decided to _Hi-ban_ that once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to smithereens.

"But just listen to it!" chirped Lavi, ignoring the indignant bean's protests. "**Han**_d ove_r th**e Inn**ocen_ce!_" he echoed in a deep, creepy voice, stretching his face as if to copy the malformed appearance of the Earl's machines.

Allen twitched at the imitation of an Akuma. It wasn't that his red-headed friend was bad at it; on the contrary, he was scarily accurate. Metallic, screechy tone and all.

"Like, sorry, mate," continued Lavi, grinning cheekily. "You ain't havin' mine! I don't swing towards Akuma. Except maybe Chomesuke. Oh, and Eliade was pretty hot too."

"What are you talking about, Lavi?" inquired Allen, visibly confused. "You swing at Akuma all the time."

A look of horror - a real one, mind you - crossed the bunny's face.

"What the - that's not even funny, man! I only like older women!" insisted the flustered male. "_Human_ women!"

"What? When was this about women?"

"You . . . you don't get what I mean by 'swinging,' d'you, Allen?"

"Erm, swinging your hammer, no?"

"You poor, innocent Beansprout."

"Sh-shut-up! Stupid Lavi!"

(*I pray I don't have to explain this joke to you [neither the pun off innocence, nor the swinging]. I still laugh whenever I read Hevlaska's first conversation with Allen, pffff).

* * *

[1] "_Pride and Prejudice_ is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England." It's basically a novel ridiculing a time period uptight on manners and polite facades. I thought it fit well c: (note: DGM takes place at the end of the 19th century). (info from Wikipedia).

[2] One of the few times (if any) that Allen opens up to someone about Mana. And then proceeds to compare Link a piece of furniture. LOL. (DGM Manga: Chapter 183, Page 18).

[3] Anyone remember the early Lavi days when he'd just pop outta nowhere? (example - DGM Manga: Chapter 31, Page 8). Yeah, I'm definitely incorporating that in this :D Now if only Hoshino would give him back his curl... ;n;

[4] Panda-jiji means "old man Panda." Translations vary, but you can usually find Lavi nicknaming Bookman that :D (Lavi loves his nicknames, after all!).

[5] Ya'll know Hoshino and her colors . . . I've seen a few variations of Lavi's new headband. From green with orange spots that cross, to black with red spots that cross. (DGM Chapter 189 and 171). Personally, I think the red spots is more likely since it matches the uniform, but aesthetically, I just went with green-blue (plus, it brings back the colors of his old headband, the one with fish scales). Merp.

[6] Changed the original "Flora Town" into something sounding more, well, British. Ish. Yeah. This is a fictional place, just so ya know. Looking at the area of Furness, I found a patch of land nearby Newton-in-Furness that looked like it could've had a town at some point, so I plopped Floraston there. I would've used the Abbey, but well, despite how well that'd work, that's an Abbey, not a town. Derp.

[7] "[Shades] can come in many forms, anything from a deceased (or living for that matter) person's or animal's imprint left on something or someone, to something invoked into the "possession" of an object and even sometimes a person." (can't link to the source, but you can find it on Google). Shades can be described as looking like a ghost, or a dark, shadowy mist.

* * *

**A/N** _: I know, I'm evil. Gotta love dem cliffhangers! Btw, a big thank you to all my readers (both silent and those who review)~! Thanks for all the views!_

_Ya'll have no idea how much I love writing out dreams. They're so much fun, especially since they usually make next to no sense, mixing up past experiences and random thoughts into a mesh of ridiculousness that for some reason we end up believing whilst experiencing them. WEWT._

_Anerway, I updated early since I'm going to be in Asheville, NC, touring my college of choice this Thursday through, uh, Sunday? Somethin' like that. Though, really, I would've updated early anyway, since I'm eager to get to the fight scene 8'D RAH!_

_**KhaalidaNyx** - Thanks! :D Lol, ikr? That's what I love about it! It's not the kind of manga where you can just read through it - it's the kind that hides tidbits, has the craziest plot-twists, and goodness, does it throw you off just when you think you've got the answer! That's one of the many things I most enjoy about Hoshino's work! Kira's grandfather, Grampy, is her FATHER's father, so he's not Mr. Mallory from A FORGOTTEN PAST ;3 Can't tell ya much more than that lest I spoil things! And yes, I did notice that similarity! Though, we know now that Allen had a life before and he was friends with Neah those 35 years ago, I wonder if his younger attitude was his original attitude from 35 years ago? Or was it spawned from Neah's memory? Or was it just from his tough experiences as a "freak" to the circus and those around him? Hoshino needs to update! D: Thanks for the review~!_

_**Sabet163** - Pleased to hear it! :D Yaaaah, but I know how it feels to be reading a story that updates once a week, and then it skips an update and it's like nuuuuuuuu. xD I'm glad that the long chapter made up for it though! I'm thrilled you enjoyed it so much :D Thank you very much, and thanks for the review!_

_**Kaite1211** - Depending on how much I add to the old plotline, you may be finding out earlier just how Grampy knows about the Black Order ;3 As for Kira's parents, we know that her father just walked out one day and never returned, whilst her mother died in a house fire (or explosion, if you will). This has only been mentioned on a vague level, but ought to be detailed soon enough! I think you're getting the two stories mixed up, yeah xD Neither of Kira's parents were Noah (I'm not good with that fifteenth Noah stuff, lmao). I might have to check out The Equine Exorcist now - sounds interesting! :D Thanks for the review~!_

_**Skittles-Obsessed-Wolf-Girl** - Here ya go, woman! xD Your update is served! Thanks for the review xD (gawd now I want skittlesss)._

_**Sinopaa** - The old SOTF lurks in my "Browse" Gallery, haha. I deleted it from my viewable gallery a long time ago, but not the "Browse" Gallery (oops). I messaged you the link though! Yeaaah, but being of Cherokee descent is nothing more than a quip nowadays. Can't even get financial aid off of it D: -shot- My Grandma is German! . . . that's kinda weird though, now that I think about it. Gramps was Cherokee, Grammy was German? That's quite the mix xD I'm pleased you did! They really are, haha. I'm enjoying adding more scenes between the two compared to the old SOTF xD One of the lovable things about cats, eh? My old cat used to bite off the heads and leave the little bodies on the porch (a;sldkfj). Haha, yeah, I cranked out this chapter early because I'm eager to get to the next part xD Thank you again, and thanks for the review~! :D_

_**Panthershade** - I'm pleased you do, and I'm thrilled you like my OCs! ;u; Haha, same! I always thought having a cat Innocence would make things interesting for Timcanpy xD At the very least, I keep the hopes up that perhaps Hoshino will introduce another Parasitic Beast Type Innocence =u=b I'm happy I can do Link justice :D He's really grown on me as of late, and always seeing him as such a stiff and, well, the emotions of a rock in certain fanfictions is a downer :c I mean, yeah, he can be like that, but he's definitely livened up! Thank you! I can't promise any fast update for A FORGOTTEN PAST, but I can assure you that I update SOTF weekly! Thank you so very much for the review~! :D (ps: I love your penname)._


	8. Chapter 8

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**HiThisIsAnAnnouncement:**_ The link to the old SONG OF THE FOURTEENTH (first 20 chappies) can be found on my profile. I'm still bleh about posting it cuz my old, developing writing style makes me facepalm, but meh. -rollsaroundlikeaderp-_

_Also, I have a poll up! I'd like to see how many new readers I have, as well as how many of you followed me from the old SOTF :D_

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **vaskeemi**, **Shiroikage**, **Myujikaru Sakura**, and **Wicked Mischief** for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|)

. . . The Destroyer of Time stood up abruptly, preparing to grab Kira and drag her out if he must. However, at that moment, Doctor Phillip returned. Kira, without a thought, immediately got up and walked over to the bald man, accepting the medicine from his hands gratefully and tucking it into her basket.

"Thank you, Doctor! I'll tell Grampy-"

A loud _chink! _assaulted Kira's ears, and something hard pressed against the side of her skull. The cloaked girl's eyes widened in shock, and without moving her head, her blue-eyed gaze shifted to her right. A blonde nurse was standing next to her . . . with a GUN morphing _out of her face?!_

"**Han**_d ove_r th**e Inn**ocen_ce!_"

And with those words, Kira Renee Malcolm's life changed forever.

* * *

[ Chapter 8 ]

_Welcome to Our War_

"It's sorta like that awkward moment when you walk out to get the morning paper, and there's about a dozen punks beating the tar out of each other a few feet from your doorstep. It's not that big of a deal to you, at least not until one of them takes out your antique mailbox. Then shit gets serious." (Teach from TSFE on "How people get pulled into war")

* * *

It doesn't take long for a crowd to notice something amiss, especially when it's that of a disgustingly twisted gun morphing out of one of their prettiest nurse's faces[1]. The screechy, metallic words of the deformed woman had barely left her sharp-toothed grin before some customer starting screeching bloody murder, quickly followed by everyone else. Amongst the chorus of screaming, flying papers, and tumbling, fleeing humans, Kira was frozen in place, time slowing to an agonizing pace - a crawl - allowing her to fully process what was happening.

There was a gun against her head. For the love of God, there was a GUN AGAINST HER HEAD. _WHY COULDN'T SHE MOVE_?

_Click!_

The barely perceivable _click_ing noise went unnoticed. Instead, the twisted flesh of the woman next to her was forever burnt into her irises - the grotesque gray skin corkscrewing out into a metallic sheen, forming the barrel that was currently pressed threateningly against the side of Kira's skull. A ridiculously twisted look of pleasure shined brightly on the woman's - no, _monster's_ - remaining facial features.

_Click!_

Allen was struggling not to get trampled. He had lunged for Kira the moment the Akuma had revealed its true self, but the crowd had panicked too quickly and pushed him aside. People stumbled wildly for the door, running over each other in their terror-induced efforts. Link had disappeared, likely pushed out of the building by the mob.

A third _click!_ echoed ominously in Kira's ears.

Three seconds had passed.

A menacing, dark purple glow flashed against her cheek - Allen's voice rang in her ears -

"KIRAAA!"

The last thing she saw was Doctor Phillip lunging forward, his body colliding with hers, shoving her away, his brown eyes locked onto her blue -

**_BANG!_**

* * *

It was delightfully sunny today. Fat, fluffy clouds lazily drifted above in a sea of clear and calm azure, and the slightest tickle of a breeze teased the lush, green grass of the hill. The patriarch of the Malcolm family stood comfortably atop this sloped bit of land where his modest farmhouse was placed, enjoying the uncommonly good weather. A stronger wind slowly picked up, racing through the wheat fields and up the hill, tugging lightly at the old man's remaining white wisps of hair.

These were the moments Grampy Malcolm enjoyed.

"What'cha lookin' at?"

Grampy grunted, briefly pulled from his daze of quiet appreciation. Turning his head slightly, his old, gray-blue eyes recgonized his red-headed guest, Lavi, who was currently looking up at him, nails sticking out from his mouth and an old, rusted hammer in-hand. His hair lacked support, as his headband had not been returned from Chikita's earlier play time, so it curtained down around his head, looking no neater than it did flopped up. The patriarch noted that perhaps the hair in the boy's remaining eye was slowing him down, as the bunny hadn't finished the rocking chair he'd been tasked to do this very morning, and noon was passing.

"Nothing, and everything," Grampy replied to Lavi simply, voice dusty with age. He really did miss the days he could speak with clarity. Growing old was such an annoyance. "I expect that chair to be finished by the time my granddaughter and your companions return, young man."

To his amusement, the eye-patched teen gaped in horror, the nails falling from his lips and clattering to the porch floor.

"EHHH?!"

However, upon seeing that Grampy was quite serious, the bunny immediately returned to his work, ditching his formerly lazy and loose pace for a frantic one. Thank goodness all he had to do was put together the pieces! Meanwhile, his host turned back to look out across the fields. Reclaiming the calm feeling he'd had before, the elder's eyes located the path to Newton-in-Furness. His gray gaze idly trailed up the dirt line that cut through the fields before it disappeared amongst the wheat.

It was so calm . . . and yet, something felt off.

Grampy shifted some, putting his weight back onto the carved, wooden cane gripped firmly in his wrinkled hand. Was it because he fretted for his dear granddaughter? He wasn't much of a fretter though - no, his wife had certainly been, but not him. But then, why did he feel so anxious?

The old man flashed a glance back to the frantic bunny behind him, the noise of the hammer pounding nails into wood echoing in his ears. Although the fiery-haired, young adult had his coat wrapped around his waist, Grampy could still distinguish the slightest shine of the Rose Cross gracing the breast of the boy's uniform. While the coat wasn't quite as he remembered their uniforms to be - white instead of red trimmed, and much less militaristic in style - that Rose Cross was unmistakable.

No, Grampy Malcolm wasn't fretting.

He was wary.

Wary for his granddaughter.

Only sorrow and pain awaited those who wore that Rose Cross, and his dear Kira, his only branch left in the Malcolm family, was currently in town with them. The last thing he needed was for his remaining family to be wrapped up in the Order's affairs again - no, the first time had nearly destroyed them. He couldn't bear to let it happen again.

_No more._

_No more, God._

_We've done enough already._

"Yo, Gramps, what's up with the demon cat?"

Grampy jerked out of his thoughts. He hadn't realized his gaze had been fixated on Lavi until his attention returned. However, the teenager was not looking at him, but at the front door of the farmhouse, his one visible, green eye wide. Following the youngster's attention, Grampy heard the unmistakable sound of scratching and mewling. The cat flap at the bottom of the door was bulging and trembling, unable to move thanks to a piece of wood for the rocking chair obstructing it.

"You've blocked the cat door," explained Grampy.

"Cat door? You've got a bloody cat door for that little monster?" deadpanned Lavi, as if not believing what he was hearing.

"Of course. Now if you would," Grampy said, motioning to the door and secretly enjoying the briefly panicked look on his guest's face. Kira wasn't the only one amused by Chikita's love for that boy.

Lavi got up slowly, brushing off wood dust from his pants. With hesitant steps, the young man approached the cat door; and once he was a hypothesized safe distance from the entrance, he reached out with a lanky arm to nudge the wood obstructing a certain kitty's way.

His help was unneeded.

Grampy Malcolm felt his entire body stiffen as light blue, almost green, light glowed out from the blocked cat door, and then a yowl split through the air. Lavi yelled out in shock as the cat door abruptly forced itself out, the wood before it and around it splintering and exploding outwards. A black bur jetted out, and Grampy's insides sank at the flash of blue in the determined creature's amber eyes.

A bewildered Lavi and wilting patriarch watched as the shadow of Chikita sped off the hill, landing with unsheathed claws and disappearing onto the path between the wheat fields, grass waving wildly behind her.

There was a moment of stunned silence. The breeze from earlier whispered around them, the calm of the day returning. A bird twittered noisily from the barn farther off as Lavi moved to stand next to the oldest Malcolm, both overlooking the fields now.

"You should go," stated Grampy simply, his voice hollow.

Lavi merely shook his head, attempting a light-hearted tone despite his host's clear disheartened stature.

"They might come here. Can't leave an old man without protection, neh?"

Grampy twitched, ever sensitive about his failing abilities. He wasted no time in responding in an admirably barking tone for his age, "Then get back to work on that rocking chair - my expectations have not changed!"

"Whaaaaa?!"

Unfortunately, not even Lavi's wailing and flailing arms could lighten the old man's heart. Grampy turned away from the complaining child and gazed out over the hill again, gray eyes darkening with regret.

How silly of him. He shouldn't have expected mercy, after all.

Innocence had no sympathies for his old heart.

* * *

Glowing white invaded her vision, and then she was airborne - heat, light, and glass exploding around her. Her terror remained choked down in her throat, even as she tumbled to the ground outside.

Everything was spinning.

Something warm and wet trickled down her cheek.

Her eyes unfocused and refocused, her vision blurry and her mind muddled.

Fire was crackling all around her. She couldn't find a way out. She was surrounded by falling, burning wood and kitchenware. The curtains were aflame. The clock fell with a smash, followed closely behind recently washed dishes.

Kira stood there in her mother's kitchen, staring into space blankly in shock. Something warm and wet was spattered against her face, and her hands clenched the edges of her little, poofy dress.

Clench. Unclench. Clench.

Why.

What was happening.

Why was this happening.

She didn't understand. This didn't make sense!

A scream cut through her eardrums. Her little feet burst into action - something grabbed her from behind - she was being dragged away -

_"Mummy?!"_

"Kira, snap out of it!"

Allen?

Kira's eyes shot open, and she gasped as stinging air flooded into her mouth, invading her lungs. Something firm patted her back as she coughed, choking on smoke and flying ash. She wasn't given time to finish her hacking fit, however, as suddenly the firm hand upon her back became two strong arms grabbing onto her. The stunned young girl yelped as glowing white flooded her vision once again, and then she was yanked back. The place she'd been exploded, cobblestone and earth spraying outwards as a barrage of something purple pelted the ground.

Kira could only manage a broken shout, calling Allen's name as the dust settled, afraid she'd lost him. However, he was still by her, speaking fast.

But she didn't hear a word he said.

Instead, her gaze had become locked on the remains of a brick building, currently billowing smoke and upchucking fire. A terrible heat assaulted her skin, but her flesh chilled as three shadows rose from the chaos. They were bulbous in shape; and a metallic screeching sound echoed from the middle of them as the smoke cleared, chased away by the wind picking up.

As her hair whipped out behind her from the new breeze, Kira's eyes widened in horror. Those bulbous shapes - they had GUNS sticking out of them, odd canon-like weaponry that protruded from their bodies haphazardly; and a - was that a human face? No, the face was like a mask - a mask of utmost sorrow and pain, a permanent blank look and expression of anguish as the mouth gaped open in silent agony and black tears dripped from its pallid cheeks. It was horrendous and grotesque and -

The middle spherical monster was shaking violently. It's body suddenly became distorted, and an inhuman, mixed cry left it as the black pentacle upon its forehead glowed a reddish purple. Before her eyes, the thing changed, morphing into something akin to a mutated porcupine - obnoxiously large, rusted spikes protruding from every inch of its metallic-like body; massive, bear-like claws jutting out from its paws; and that white, sorrowful mask pushing out from its chest, a Roman numeral two printed upon the forehead.

Something was tugging her arm. The stunned and horrified young girl had half the mind to resist, but Allen's voice rang clear in her ears, reminding her once again that he was at her side.

"We have to move! Please, Kira, c'mon!"

Numbly, she staggered to her feet, allowing the older teen to guide her. Her mind was reeling - or was it blank? She didn't quite know. Was this what they called "shock?"

Kira refocused her gaze from the creatures wailing in the rubble and to her white-haired guest, the cursed boy leading her away from the terror before them. Her blue eyes widened as she found that Allen had changed. A magnificent white cape billowed out from behind him, sweeping passed her left side, whipping the air next to her; and a furred hood burst forth from the neck, resting upon the teen's shoulders. His grip upon her wrist was firm and clothed - clothed in the white covering his body, the wrist displaying that of a kind of band around it in the shape of a golden crown, more white fluffing out from the wrist.

When did he change clothes? Better yet, why were his clothes _glowing_?

The sound of something akin to cannons firing exploded into Kira's eardrums. However, She barely had the time to flinch, for Allen suddenly yanked her (so much yanking, geeze!) behind himself - still making her run whilst he did so - flinging out his left arm -

Holy Mary, mother of Jesus! His left arm was a claw! A BLOODY CLAW!

Kira stared aghast.

_"Innocence can take the form of many things - from jewelry to basic house-hold items."_

_"But your's is your arm?"_

_"The rarest form Innocence can take is that of a part of the Exorcist's body. Mine is my entire left arm."_

And that was when everything clicked. Kira felt as if her shock had been bitch-slapped by a brick wall and flung out of her skull like a cheating husband from his home.

Innocence.

This was Allen's Innocence activated.

Allen was an Exorcist.

And behind them - those creatures - Akuma!

Everything she'd been told, everything was true - the so-called secret war was real, and she'd just been flung into the middle of it!

As a particularly colorful vocabulary (now more extensive thanks to a certain bunny) ran through Kira's panicking mind, Allen's ever-firm grip stayed with her. His left, clawed hand had, as mentioned before, been flung out. Words left his lips, but Kira missed them as the Akuma's gun fire drowned out everything around her.

Beautiful and fierce white light burst forth, circling like a disk before stretching out and forming an encircled white cross, the four points tipped with spheres. The purple projectiles from the Akuma impacted with this light, and Kira felt as if the air itself was pressed back and condensed, pushing past her violently and whipping her hair and cloak out to her side, loosening her balance as she ran.

But she didn't stumble. No, Allen was still dragging her along, quickly and without hesitation - her feet flying across the cobblestone below, trying to keep up with him.

Her ears were ringing - her heart was pounding - her blood was racing - she was terrified and thrilled and filled with adrenaline.

She was scared out of her wits, and yet an excitement filled her.

What was this?

This strange thrill?

Was it the adrenaline?

Was it the thrill of danger?

Screams of the fleeing townsfolk rose up into the air, breaking through the immense pillar of smoke still billowing forth from the remains of the brick building -

No. No, not just a brick building.

The Pharmacy.

Doctor Phillip. The nurses.

Allen had pushed her back for the bajillionth time as two of the Akuma fired once again, the newly formed one twitching and cackling off somewhere to the side. Kira fell on her bum on the cobblestone, but the pain of the landing barely registered. Her eyes were zeroed in onto the once-upon-a-time Pharmacy building across the courtyard.

They were gone. All of them were gone.

Doctor Phillip had pushed her out of the way.

Doctor Phillip had taken the Akuma's fire.

Tears trickled down her soot-stained face, and Kira shut her eyes, covering her face. The adrenaline had left, replaced by the heavy weight of sorrow smothering her heart.

Gone forever.

Gone.

Dead.

_Those people you were just talking to a minute ago are DEAD._

"_Lit_**tle** _gi_i**ii**r**l**~!"

Kira's eyes snapped open. Beady red orbs locked onto her gaze - a jaw filled with jagged teeth opened wide - an ear-ringing screech assaulted her ears, piercing through her skull -

"**Han**_d_ ov_er_ _t_**he In**no_ce_**nce**!"

She didn't have time to move. Black, gray, and the gleam of teeth lunged forward -

Allen was in front of her in a flash, his clawed Innocence arm raised once again, this time blocking off the snapping teeth. A loud clang like that of metal hitting metal rang through the air on contact, and a battle of strength ensued, Exorcist against Akuma, pressing against each other - the monster to get to a stunned and frightened Kira, and Allen to protect her.

"Kira, run! Find somewhere to hide!" shouted the cursed boy, struggling against this new, vicious Akuma.

Kira was surprised to find her earlier caught voice bursting from her throat.

"But what about you?!"

Allen actually grinned, though it was strained.

"Don't worry about me - remember, I'm an Exorcist!"

Kira froze, her guest's words sinking in.

That was right. This fifteen-year-old - this boy cloaked in white with a strained, reassuring grin as he fought off the weight of the pressing monster drooling and gnawing upon his clawed arm - was an Exorcist. A soldier of the Black Order.

_And I'm just a civilian, a weak and helpless little girl._

The frightened, young teenager on the ground felt her gut plummet.

"Miss Kira, I believe Walker is quite right."

Kira jumped in surprise, head snapping back to find Link standing a safe distance away. His gentleman attire was torn, and soot covered him. It appeared as if the crowd and explosion had taken their toll on the blonde man, though he still stood tall and firm.

"You ought to get to some place safe, preferably before Walker loses his arm."

At that last bit, Kira snapped out of her reverie.

"O-Okay!" she stammered, flashing a frightened glance at the struggling boy before her before scrambling up and turning tail. Kira didn't know quite where she was running, but she figured anywhere AWAY from the drooling demon looking to eat her was a good start. She sprinted to the right, locating a nearby building that looked structurally safe amongst the ensuing chaos.

Meanwhile, behind her, the Akuma out for her blood released a furious roar, irritated that its prey was running off. Allen, of course, wasn't going to let it reach his host. Not on his watch! Now if only he could move his arm out of the Level Two's jaws without it moving to bite his head off -

A strange whirring noise took him by surprise.

Kira had just reached her designated safe zone when she heard it. The young girl turned back just in time to spot the porcupine-like Akuma open its maw and release a menacing, purple-pink light right into a shocked Allen's face. A loud boom resonated through the air, followed by a certain cursed boy's body being flung backward, leaving a trail of ash and smoke in front of him as he rocketed directly through a building, which promptly caved in.

Allen's name ripped from Kira's throat in a scream, fear for her guest blooming inside of her. The young teenager stepped back towards from whenst she came, only to trip on her torn cloak. Kira immediately fell face-first with a yelp, dust invading her nostrils and eyes. By the time she'd recovered to look up, Link had stepped forward, a strange dagger-like contraption sliding out of both of his sleeves. The man, with inhuman speed similar to Allen's, leapt through the air and landed upon the Akuma's skull - the one spot lacking ginormous, rusty needles. Without hesitation, Link stabbed downwards, plunging his golden, serrated knives into the monster's head. However, they didn't appear to have much affect, as the Akuma let out an agitated roar and flung its body to the side, easily tossing the blonde man like a rag-doll into the bakery - or what used to be the bakery.

Kira's eyes widened in horror, and her heart jumped in her throat.

Tossed into buildings - what humans could survive that?!

At that precise moment as if to prove her wrong, Allen reappeared, bursting out of the ruins of his own impact zone, much to Kira's relief. A new weapon was clutched in his hand - or, at least, in his remaining hand. His clawed Innocence left arm had disappeared. Now, he brandished a magnificent, ridiculously large white sword, a black cross prominently stretching across its length and a black, almost blue, glittering border around the edge of the blade.

Kira was done being shocked and surprised. She gave up trying to make sense of the distorted reality around her. Instead, as her guest returned to battle, she processed one thing: Allen was fighting the Akuma. And fighting Akuma whilst defending her and the scrambling townspeople around them was pretty damn hard without help. She needed to do something - anything - anything other than sitting here useless in the dust.

As a spray of purple bullets pelted the ground farther off, Kira felt a new-found power burst forth into her limbs. She sprinted to the side of the courtyard, keeping away from the Akuma and heading for the first group of people she saw, a few folks cowering before the Newton-in-Furness hotel's portico.

"Get out of town!" Kira yelled, an explosion sounding behind her and yet another gust of wind pulling at her body. "Run for the fields!"

The townsfolk took one terrified look at her and did as told, too frightened to care about trivial social rumours at this point. Seeing them flee out of the crossfire, Kira whirled around, looking for others stricken still by fear. She wondered if she should check on Link, and at that thought, she turned, only to stumble again. With an agitated noise, the young girl ripped off her hindering cloak. Just when she thought she was free, however, a loud boom echoed above her head.

Kira looked up just in time to see the building looming over her and at her back collapsing. Rock and wood and dust fell, plummeting towards her -

And everything went black.

* * *

Allen was not a happy camper.

No, he was quite pissed actually.

He'd fought in the middle of towns before, yes, but not ones quite as busy as this. And if they were as busy as this, he was always able to lead the Akuma away, like in his first battle alongside Lavi[2].

But noooo, this Akuma just didn't want to work with him! It didn't help that it was ecstatic over realizing it had a personality[3].

"_AH_**AHAH**A, th**is** _is fa_nta**stic**!_ Bri_**lli**ant**! W**_onde_rf**ul! I** _feel_ - I **FEE**_L AL_IVE!"

Allen deftly ducked under a swinging paw, flinching back as the bear-like claws missed his back by a hairsbreadth. Even with the knowledge that Crown Clown would defend him[4], he figured it'd be better not to take the risk of meeting those claws. The Critical Point Breaker jumped back quickly, following up with a roll as a barrage of pointed spikes launched towards his vicinity.

"**Pla**_y wi_th m**e, ex**_orcist_! Pl_ay wi_t**h me**!"

An image of Road flashed through the cursed boy's mind, and he twitched. What was with his enemies and always wanting to "play?" This most certainly was _not_ playing!

The Level Two opened its maw again, and Allen summoned his cloak out, gripping it by the edge with a finger (he still had a grip on his Sword of Salvation) and flinging the glowing white out in front of him. It immediately stretched and moved, forming a tent-like shield as the beam of purple-pink light from before impacted with it.

That attack wasn't harmful inititally - he had not been burned or stung or injured directly by it that first time it'd manifested. No, Allen had learned that that attack flung you back, and whatever you impacted with was what hurt. A lot. Luckily, however, this Akuma was still only just beginning its "understanding" stage. It still didn't know all of its abilities yet[4], and Allen hoped to use this to his advantage.

The Akuma let out a roar, enjoying the sound of its own voice. Between the Earl's machine and the screams echoing around him from the townspeople, Allen was really beginning to wish he had some earplugs. But now wasn't the time to complain. No, the townspeople were an issue. Allen had to not only defend himself, but also them, as any attack he dodged could likely strike a human, and he couldn't have that. At the very least, the Earl's machine was leaving Kira be, its attention now on him; but Allen didn't know how long this would last, not when it thought Kira had Innocence.

He was going to need to entertain this being of Dark Matter until he could find an appropriate opening. Forming an idea, he used his big ass sword to block a few rusty needles aimed his way.

"Akuma!" he shouted, unleashing a few Clown Belts to keep it preoccupied, "I'll play with you, but on one condition!"

"_Oh_**h**h~?" the sorrowful creature sang, tilting its head as it skidded on the ground, claws grinding into the earth as it stopped the momentum of its dodge.

"We go elsewhere!" offered Allen, feeling sweat beginning to bead on his brow. "Out of this town!"

It was becoming hard to ignore the wailing of the Akuma's trapped soul, and the monocle in front of his cursed eye was whirring wildly. Allen grit his teeth as the Akuma tilted its ugly head, seemingly contemplating his proposition.

"I wi**ll ac**_cept_! **I a**_cce_p**t**, I a**ccep**_t, I_ _ACCE_**PT~**!" finally cried the Level Two cheerfully, spinning around happily.

Allen immediately flung out a Cross Grave, slashing out with his sword, but cursed as the Akuma bolted out of the way. The damn thing was fast! But not as fast as a Level Three - he could do this. He could definitely get it -

The porcupine-like creation suddenly jetted off, directly out of town, still singing away in its mechanical voice. Its morbid, spikey body soon disappeared into the wheat fields, the tall golden grass swaying fearfully around it.

As the Level Two's call of, "Le**t's** _p_l**ay~**! _L_**et's** pl_ay_~!" became fainter and fainter, Allen flashed one last look back at the courtyard of Newton-in-Furness. His cursed eye still whirring wildly as a world of black and white focused next to one of color.

Kira must have found a place to hide. The townspeople were fleeing for the fields to the north, which was good, considering the Akuma went in the opposite direction, south. Having destroyed the Level Ones, now all he needed to do was chase down that Level Two and destroy it in the fields -

"Walker, there's another town southward."

Allen's heart skipped a beat.

"What?" dropped from his mouth, and the Destroyer of Time turned, his silver-eyed gaze landing upon his supervisor.

Link was bloodied, but still stubbornly standing firm, his arm wrapped around his torso as he approached his watch. Once side by side, the former CROW's reddish eyes flashed warningly.

"Floraston. That town is having a festival today."

_The Level Two was heading straight for it._

* * *

[ SOTF OMAKE 5 ]

_*note: Thank you to Alessia for helping me brain storm this idea! Big creds to her! Ya'll should check out her dA too - 5ds-rabid-fangirl is her username :D_

It had been a long, fairly unsuccessful day, but Mr. Fisher was in a bright mood. After all, he'd made more income than the obnoxious shoe seller, Geoffrey Soles, across the way.

The old man grinned, the gaps from his missing teeth glaring into view. That spindly coot Soles hadn't stood a chance, not after he'd bribed the paper boy to start up a verbal match with him about his prices.

"You must be mental if you think _that's_ cheap!"

That's all it had taken. One statement. And then Mr. Soles and the paper boy had gone at it for a good ten minutes, successfully chasing away any possible customers. Talk about brilliant!

Mr. Fisher cackled to himself, scrubbing his bread counter.

"Darling, you've been scrubbing that damn counter for ten minutes. Can't you put away the bread for today now? People will think we're still open otherwise!"

Mr. Fisher's cackling abruptly stopped, and a tick formed above his brow.

"Mathilde, this counter is NOT clean. Can you not see these two CLEARLY dirty spots?" he insisted with a mock fatherly tone.

His wife wasn't amused. If only she could understand that he must make the counter spotless! A single spot was so annoying, and it distracted him from everything. That one stupid finger print to the left - a smudge right next to it -

"You're going to scrub straight through the counter, dear!" Mrs. Fisher snipped, lumbering forward as she folded her apron. "Really, it's clean enough! I don't need you staying up till midnight scrubbing the stupid counter again-"

"Patience!" interrupted Mr. Fisher. "Patience is the key to making my bakery spotless!"

"Patience is for fishing," corrected Mrs. Fisher with a huff. "You need to remember that YOU inherited this bakery from your uncle, and your BROTHER is the one who fishes for a living."

Mr. Fisher grumbled unhappily. It was true. He'd gotten the short end of the stick. Mr. Fisher was supposed to be a fisherman, hence his last name. He was not supposed to be a silly baker!

"If anything, that counter is permanently marked from wear," continued Mrs. Fisher. "We need a new shop."

"Nothing's wrong with this shop," growled Mr. Fisher, still scrubbing away.

"It's old, darling!" argued Mrs. Fisher informatively. "You'd be so much happier in a new shop with new counters-"

"New, new, new! New requires money, Mathilde," retorted Mr. Fisher, finding yet another blemish on his counter. He attacked it immediately, warring against it's mark on the wood. He would not be defeated by these smudges! "I will not spend money on something we do not need!"

Mrs. Fisher huffed, crossing her arms over her buxom chest and equally buxom belly. She wasn't a fat woman, but she was certainly plump. "And when will that be, sweet heart? When this place falls down on your bald head?"

"Yes," replied Mr. Fisher sarcastically. "Now, if you would allow me to complete my work-"

"Complete!" echoed Mrs. Fisher, throwing her hands in the air. "You are never done scrubbing that counter!" she insisted, giving her last words to their argument as she left. "Never!" she called over her shoulder.

Mr. Fisher merely snorted, ignoring his wife's indignance. Really, why were women so fretful? His shop was quite sturdy - he bet even a cannon couldn't take it down! Or a militia of men - yes, his place was a fortification! Mr. Fisher scrubbed harder into the counter, eyes bright as he praised his little bakery. That was right. This wood was strong - unbreakable - nothing could ever -

_**BAM!**_

A body crashed through the bakery's front wall, right between the window and door, flying straight through the first set of shelves of bread still on display. Wood and pastries went airborne, and dishes and shelves clattered to the floor.

Mr. Fisher stared at the scene aghast, hand frozen in mid-scrub.

The body that had rocketed into his beloved bakery groaned, blonde hair peaking out from the shelf that had fallen atop of it. As the man slowly eased himself out of the debris, Mrs. Fisher returned, newspaper in-hand.

"You know, dear, there have been quite a lot of odd occurences happening 'round here-" she cut off midsentence, eyes having moved from the paper and to the ruined front of the shop.

"Oh, my."

"Don't say it."

"But, dear -"

"Don't say it!" yelled Mr. Fisher, face bright red and a vein bulging out from his wrinkled head.

A moment of silence. Even the injured man was quiet, eyeing the two with a kind of blank, red-gazed "I don't know what to do about this" look. However, everyone knows how a husband and wife's argument ends. The wife will always get that last word in, no matter how much her husband insists she not.

Mrs. Fisher was keeping to that unspoken marital law.

"Looks like you'll be buying us a new shop after all."

And Mr. Fisher lost it.

"DAMNIT ALL!"

As a raging, rather short and stooped over old man went on a rampage, kicking broken shelves and bread about, Link took that moment of opportunity to slip (or more like limp) out. If anything was scarier than Akuma, it was enraged elderly folks, and he wasn't too inclined to get into their marital spit!

* * *

[1] I don't really think of DGray as a horror manga until I remember the Akuma side of the plotline. EEK. Here's some references in the manga for Akuma twisting out of their disguises: DGM Manga: Chapter 27, Page 16; Chapter 28, Page 9, and Chapter 28, Page 17.

*note: The _clicks_ signified seconds. I dunno whether Akuma actually make that noise, but I associate it with a weapon about to fire, so I integrated that into this particular Akuma (which is about to evolve, and therefore would exhibit a few slowly appearing traits that will become official upon its evolution - you can find more on this on dgraymanwikia).

[2] Allen's first battle alongside Lavi is told in Chapters 27 and 28 of the DGM Manga. c:

[3][4] "Level 2 produces a dramatic change. They develop a unique ability and a sense of self. Level 2 Akuma are capable of intelligent thought and are largely independent, though they still maintain unquestionable loyalty to the Millennium Earl and the Clan of Noah." (dgraymanwikia). I was really disappointed to find that dgraywikia didn't detail the whole finding out their abilities bit, but you can read about it in the Martel/Mater/Matel Arc of Allen's first mission with Kanda, when Allen fights his first Level Two.

*note: Sorry if I spend too much time on the Akuma. I enjoy writing about them, as I feel like not enough fanfictions explore them enough when they mention them. Merp.

* * *

**A/N** _: This has been gathering dust in Docs for almost a week now, haha. Trying to get a head-start on upcoming chapters, which are quite messy plot and theme-wise -flops-. SO MUCH RE-WRITING BLARG._

_I've absolutely loved all the feedback I've gotten. Thank you, everyone, for every review you've given me! I can't express my gratitude enough :D -totallyaddictedtoreviews-_

_The biggest thing I changed in this chapter: Kira's reactions. I detailed them much more than in the first version - and this time I expressed her terror more as well. I hope I was able to convey her shock and over all turmoil of feelings towards the fighting. Meep._

_Also, I tried a new writing style for fight scenes. I wanted it to feel a little rushed (hence the hyphens "-"), but also wanted to keep the details there. I hope it worked out, haha. _

_**PishaGirl **- Thank you! :D LOL, who doesn't love Allen? xD I'm thrilled you love Kira and Chikita ;u; I've worked very hard on them, so whenever I hear people like them, it feels fantastic lD Oh, I know the feeling! The reactions are my favorite part to write 8D Especially since we all see things differently, which makes perspective a blast, haha. Plus, fight scenes are epic, and describing them and those involved is fun~! Thank you very much, and thank you for the lovely review~!_

_**Panthershade** - Aha, glad you do! Yeaaah, I was ruined when it came to the word "innocence" after I read some badly translated DGM manga followed by a rather poorly done anime sub ("I just wanted to touch your Innocence." -Hevlaska). -dying- Hell yeah. If you're gonna dream, dream wild 8D That's how my dreams are at least, lmao. Link likes corners. I mean, he's practically a paid stalker, no? xD WAIT. IS HE EVEN GETTING PAID? -mindblown- The fish scale design was my absolute favorite. I miss it so much too ;n; Good thing Lavi's hammer doesn't get gnaw marks on it xD Haha, yeah, I found out about Kira's Japanese name meaning after three chapters of SOTF. I was going with the Gaelic for her name, which means "dark" :'D OH WELL. Kanda will show up a chapter or so after Kira gets to the Order - I'm going to be trying to include him more in this version of SOTF, since he was only mentioned, like, once in my last version (oops). No kidding! The Earl is one of the most curious guys in the manga - man insane. Literally, lmao. I agree ;u; Thank you for the nice review~!_

_**Kaite1211** - LOL, that never gets repetitive, not for me xD Haha, that's alright! Well, when it's up, I look forward to reading it :D Thank you, and thank you for the review!_

_**EvaWinters** - I didn't even think of that xD Naah, the bold and italisized letters in "Hand over the Innocence!" is just my way of trying to express the vocal tones of the Akuma. Kind of like how people use italics for singing sometimes? If that makes any sense xD You have a good eye though! I hope you're one of the ones who catch the hints I always hide in the chapters |D_

_**KhaalidaNyx** - Yay for applause~! :D Even if you've said it before, I certainly don't mind hearing it again! xD Thank you very much. That's a good point about Allen too. With all the discussions I've been a part of, many have come to the acceptance that the "Mask of Mana" has swallowed Allen's personality, now an intregral part of who he is. However, black!Allen is still Allen from so long ago, snapping at Mana and cussing up a storm, lmao. And that's quite true - it's one of the things that pisses Lenalee off in their first fight together, haha. He just doesn't realize that hiding himself is hurting those around him - those that care and want to help, but can only watch him struggle and suffer alone because he won't reach out. (He just needs another Lenalee-bitch-slap -shot-). Gawd, Timcanpy is legitimately my favorite little creature EVER. I can't wait to return him back to Allen in later chapters! Ah, and yes, I believe that perhaps through the few similarities in their cases, a bit of relating will go on between Allen and Kira, that is, if Kira's willing to open up. Allen's not the only one who likes to keep things to himself! Perhaps Kira's opening up will aid him in that. And no probs! No review is late to me xD Thank you again, and thanks for reviewing~!_

_**Skittles-Obsessed-Wolf-Girl** - wewt xD Here ya go again then =P The nurse? The nurse was talking to Kira :'D Does Kira have Innocence? Hmmm, guess you'll have to find out ;D Skittles are fantastic. I had skittled today too xD Thanks for the review~!_

_**Lovin' This Hon** - I'm pleased you do! Thank you so very much ;u; Here's your next chapter, and thanks for the review!_

_**SupaEpicKittyRdr** - amg your anon name 8D Glad you are! They shall continue to come xD And we'll be finding out soon enough just what Chikita can do! Thanks for the review~!_

_**vaskeemi** - Here ya go~! Thanks for the review!_

_**Tezzifrea** - lol ikr. It took me forever to get over calling a man's breast a breast xD WHAT SHOULD I SAY MANBOOB? MANBOOB CAN WORK TOO /shot. Thank you for the early birthday wishes! ;u; Ah, yes, her pics on dA are /after/ things . . . happen xD You'll find out why her skin disease doesn't show there, haha. I am planning to upload a kind of fake "manga cover" for like the first "act" or "arc" of SOTF where you can see the blotches of black skin on her =u=b Thanks for the review~!_

_**Angel-Levy** - BRILLIANT - I'm glad it got you laughing like a crazy person 8'D Thanks for the review~!_

_**B3GIN** - JUST FOR YOU, DEAR 8D Pffffff. a;sldfjk "extremely well written" amg -rollshappily- Thank youuuuuu ;u; Ahaha, yeah, and in this version of SOTF, it's a lot worse for poor Kira (I got more evil OTL). I know that feeling! xD Yes, we need moar Lavi gawd. I miss his jokester attitude orz. Thank you for the lovely review, B3GIN~!_


	9. Chapter 9

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**NEWS** : _Remember when Lavi woke up and freaked out after mistaking Kira for the Grim Reaper? Check out this mini comic Papy made of it - you can find the link on my profile!_

_Also, I have a poll up! I'd like to see how many new readers I have, as well as how many of you followed me from the old SOTF :D_

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to **vaskeemi**, **Shiroikage**, **Myujikaru Sakura**, **Lucaila, SmileRen, 99terminater, BloodyCrystal56, Syra Sunn, LunaticLove77, WonderfilledNight, BabyInspirit, FallenAngelLilith, DoingJeanOnTheSide, Narmara, Jin Hime, rainbowrunner01, Juliedoo, Hidden Depths of the Mind, Trance 20666, Goddo Yubi, WerewolfCrime, **and **Wicked Mischief** for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|) _for your convenience_

"Walker, there's another town southward."

Allen's heart skipped a beat.

"What?" dropped from his mouth, and the Destroyer of Time turned, his silver-eyed gaze landing upon his supervisor.

Link was bloodied, but still stubbornly standing firm, his arm wrapped around his torso as he approached his watch. Once side by side, the former CROW's reddish eyes flashed warningly.

"Floraston. That town is having a festival today."

_The Level Two was heading straight for it._

. : .

"Get out of town!" Kira yelled, an explosion sounding behind her and yet another gust of wind pulling at her body. "Run for the fields!"

The townsfolk took one terrified look at her and did as told, too frightened to care about trivial social rumours at this point. Seeing them flee out of the crossfire, Kira whirled around, looking for others stricken still by fear. She wondered if she should check on Link, and at that thought, she turned, only to stumble again. With an agitated noise, the young girl ripped off her hindering cloak. Just when she thought she was free, however, a loud boom echoed above her head.

Kira looked up just in time to see the building looming over her and at her back collapsing. Rock and wood and dust fell, plummeting towards her -

And everything went black.

* * *

[ Chapter 9 ]

_As We Struggle to Survive_

"I feel like battle scenes are the most under-appreciated in regards to characters' thoughts to the chaos around them. Especially for newbies to such destruction and death. Truly, it's not until you imagine yourself in that position, allow the words to provide for your senses, sight, scent, hearing, and touch, that you can really attempt to understand that character's situation."

* * *

Everything was silent. Everything was dark.

Kira groaned, but the sound caught in her throat. Her body felt constricted - trapped.

Where was she?

The young girl's eyelids trembled open, and she squinted, blinking repeatedly as dust trickled down onto her cheek. Her blue gaze focused after a moment, recognizing an old, splintering beam of wood and chunk of stony, broken wall over her.

Wait, a beam and a -

Kira's eyes shot wide open and she gasped, only to stiffen as her movement shifted the debris around her. Her memory flitted in the front of her mind, retelling what had happened. That was right - she'd been leading people away and had just shed her cloak when - when - the building -

The building had collapsed on her! She was under a _bloody building_!

The dark-skinned girl's heart began to pound, echoing in her ribcage as she trembled. Fear and shock circulated through her system before she willed herself to calm.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. She needed to get out of here. The rubble hadn't crushed her, that much she knew.

Kira carefully shifted a bit, trying to get her entire body into view for inspection. She was sprawled out awkwardly, a bit of wood propped under her back and her right foot stuffed in stone dust, the dirt trickling into her boot. Locating her left leg, Kira found that a sign had landed on it, stretching over her hip and reading, "Thank you for coming! We look forward to your next visit!" in scarlet red paint. Reaching out with a shaky hand, Kira pushed the sign away and brought her leg closer to herself, noting the reddening skin stretching up it.

Okay, so no major damage. She was just bruised all over. For once, luck was on her side. A miracle that she wasn't dead, really.

Kira leaned her head back, taking in a breath of dusty air as she decided how to go about getting out of here. She'd have to be careful, lest she cause the rubble to shift and completely collapse on her . . . Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know what exactly was holding it up.

The teenager's blue eyes followed the wooden beam along its length before examining the section of broken wall as well. It appeared as if they'd simply been propped up by miscellaneous debris around her, which meant getting out of here would be quite the chore.

Kira pouted, feeling worry churning in the pit of her stomach.

Where was Allen? And Link? Were they alright?

What of the Akuma?

A menacing _creak_ echoed in Kira's ears, and the dark-skinned girl inhaled sharply, fear blooming in her chest again.

Think later. Get out now.

Kira moved about carefully, curling herself up before turning herself around, poking warily at the rubble around her. It was annoying, because she couldn't get up, let alone sit. She had to keep crawling on her stomach, which wasn't fun at all. Dust constantly invaded her lungs, and she coughed harshly, her eyes stinging. Just as she was prodding another pile of crumbled wall, a second creak rang through her head, and she froze.

Muffled noise sounded from above.

Was that a voice?!

"Help!" coughed out Kira, hope unfolding its wings in her heart. She looked up at the rubble-made ceiling two inches from her face, neck craning. "I'm down here!"

Another voice joined the other, and Kira felt hope jump in her throat.

"Down here!" she yelled hoarsely again. "Please!"

And then the sound of footsteps caught her ears. Wait - they were moving away?!

The trapped girl wailed, struggling at the rubble above her head "No! Stop! Don't leave me!"

To her surprise and delight, the crumbling debris between the wooden beam and the chunk of wall over her moved at the pressure of her arms, and she pushed through, managing to get a hand out. Blessed light poured into her little prison, and Kira felt a smile light onto her lips as it warmed her face -

"NO, PLEASE!"

She froze.

"DON'T! SPARE ME!"

What?

"I HAVE A CHILD AND A-"

Her blood chilled as a loud BANG! echoed through the quiet, followed by something hitting the ground with a muffled thump. An odd gurgling sound met her ears before all went silent again.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

Did she just hear-?

The metallic-like screech of what she trembled to think of confirmed her suspicions. Fear bubbled up within Kira, gripping her in its icy claws and choking her. She stayed stock-still, half her body in what she'd thought was her prison, the other half inside the rubble, just about to reach out to the surface. Tears began to blur her vision.

Akuma.

There was an Akuma out there.

Why was there an Akuma? Where was Allen? And Link?

She didn't hear fighting; she couldn't hear anything. It was deathly quiet - so quiet -

A low-toned sound[1] caught the panicking girl's attention, and she paused her thoughts, listening with rising dread. The noise was moving about, getting louder, and then quieter. Realization dawned on the trapped teenager, and once again, that small bit of hope kindled in her heart.

The Akuma was moving around in no particular direction. It didn't know where she was. It might not even know she was here. She could wait till it left, and then escape and -

The noise continued to get louder and softer. Kira locked onto that sound, keeping it within her hearing like her life depended on it, straining and flinching as the pitch went from faint to just above her . . .

And then it was gone.

A few seconds passed in silence. It felt like hours - years - to the desperate girl beneath the debris. Her heart was fluttering as she finally decided to move, shifting slowly, quietly. Kira finally poked her head out from the rubble, not daring to pull herself up completely just yet, her eyes examining her surroundings.

The building that had collapsed on her had fallen forward, directly into the courtyard. It's remains stretched out, joined by the fractured bits of what used to be the statue of some important man or another, once upon a time a fountain.

Kira swallowed thickly, heart pounding against her ribs as she eyed the rest of the muted chaos about her. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought it'd be. This was the only building that collapsed (not including the completely blown up Pharmacy), and as for the other structures, they were relatively alright. The bakery owned by the Fishers[2] was in shambles, but it'd been a cheaply built wooden house anyway, and the place Allen had been thrown into had only lost a part of its front wall, the window shattered.

And there were no bodies, thank God.

But wait - what about that voice? The person the Akuma had killed?

Feeling sweat beading on her brow, Kira looked about herself again, now pulling half of her body from the ruins. A stray breeze struck up, becoming a strong wind as it rushed through the courtyard, stirring dust, stray papers, and the stubbornly smoldering remains of the Pharmacy. It was completely silent . . .

Only once she'd escaped completely did Kira notice an oddly large pile of fine dust nearby her, trickling down through the crevices of the debris it was on. As it lessened and lessened, a piece of torn fabric revealed itself -

Kira's eyes widened.

Was that . . . a shirt? A shirt and pants? The shirt - it had a giant hole in the center and blood and -

A screech echoed through the deathly quiet courtyard. Stomach jumping into her throat, Kira whirled around, staggering for balance on unsteady building remains and glass. Her blue eyes widened as she was greeted by the sight of a spherical Akuma headed her way, floating through the air directly towards her, guns pointed, face stretched in agony -

She was running. Leaping out of the debris, tripping over stray beams of wood and chunks of rock, jumping over holes in the earth- running, running, running -

She had to get away!

The sound of firing blared into her ears, ringing through her skull, followed by the ground exploding a few meters to her right. Kira screamed, shocked by the noise, burst of air, and flying earth. She fell, tumbling to the ground - she was staggering to get up, heart pounding in her ears -

A malignant shadow fell over her.

Kira's head snapped back to find the source, only to be greeted by the barrel of a cannon pointed in her face. Just around the curve of the gun, the young girl's frightened blue eyes locked onto that agonized face, crying black and mouth agape. The eyes were horror-struck - pained - she was lost in their gaze. Screams and blood filled her vision, sending her heart fluttering in panic. This horrific creature - so much pain etched on its features -

_"The soul of the Akuma is imprisoned and powerless, as it is controlled by the Earl to do his bidding."_

Kira's eyes welled up.

_". . . save the souls trapped within them . . ."_

_"The power of the Innocence can destroy Akuma and save the souls trapped within them."_

The sound of wind roared angrily in her ears; the barrel in her face glowed bright purple.

_I wish . . . I could do something._

The Akuma let out a screech, face suddenly twisting in something akin to glee[3] -

_I wish I could save the Akuma like Allen._

Tears trickled down her cheeks, she closed her eyes, and then -

**"If that is your wish."**

White bloomed behind her eyes.

_Pain -_

So much pain -

She was burning - she was burning alive!

Kira cried out, and then ethereal, sky blue light filled her vision, blinding her, followed by a screech that split through the air, directly through her ears and ringing in her skull.

That sound - she knew that sound!

It was the noise she'd often heard after stepping on a certain kitty's tail -

As Kira's senses blasted back to her, the Akuma before her suddenly backed off, making an odd clicking sound, as if confused. The barrels of its guns glowed bright then faint and bright again, indecisive about what to make of the odd sound it'd heard -

It didn't have a chance to make a decision. A black blur shot out of nowhere, speeding through the courtyard, flying over rubble - a shadow in the light that peeked through the clouds of smoke and dust and chaos in the courtyard - and then it lunged forth from the murkiness -

CHIKITA!

Kira yelled something, she wasn't quite sure just what, but she did. What the hell did the little creature think she was doing - _how was she even moving that fast_?!

It was then, once her little form was revealed, that Kira's eyes widened in shock, and her breath caught in her throat. Her adorable little cat looked absolutely wild - black fur on end, making her appear twice her size, and her eyes were sparking an icy blue, burning with raw power - the same color trailing behind her leaping paws. Her claws flashed in the peeking sunlight, teeth bared, and then she was flying at a surprised Akuma. A loud ripping sound and then -

The little cat skidded to a halt behind the monster before bolting for the left. The Akuma behind her let out a pained wail, it's side now sporting a large cut, splitting the barrels placed in that area, and immediately shot at the spot she'd been seconds before. Kira felt as if the breath had been stolen from her lungs as she watched her little cat dodge barrages of threatening purple bullets.

What was happening?

What was this?

How was Chikita -

Pain rippled within Kira again, and she gasped, doubling over. Her skin was burning again. It hurt - it hurt so much - _why_ - _why did it hurt_ - oh, God!

An agitated yowl cut through Kira's mind, and the young girl flashed a look up, body still stiff, clenched in agony. Chikita was still at it, dodging and swiping occasionally at the Akuma looming towards her. As yet another wound marked the monster, Link's words flashed through Kira's pained thoughts, and she clenched her fists, remembering that one conversation at the dinner table - the insinuations and tension -

Innocence.

Only Innocence could combat Akuma - that's what Allen had told her - which meant that Chikita, her childhood friend, her companion through thick and thin, was -

Kira about blacked out as yet another wave of pain burst through her flesh. Tears trailed down her dirt-smudged cheeks as the teenager grit her teeth, trying to steel herself against it. Why did her skin burn so much? She looked down through squinted eyes, only to flinch.

Her skin disease - was it just her, or was it moving? The black patches of diseased flesh almost appeared to be writhing just ever so slightly - or maybe it was just her panicked mind. Either way, the normal brown skin around them was going red and agitated, and the pain was very, _very_ real.

_Make it stop._

Kira closed her watery eyes again, now upon her knees on the ground, curling into herself.

_It hurts - please - please, make it _**stop** -

And then, a blessed wave of cool air flooded over her. Kira fell forward on her hands, holding herself up with trembling limbs, eyes locked on the ground as her tears wet the cracked and busted cobbles below.

It was gone?

The pain was -

Chikita's yowl abruptly loudened, catching Kira's muddled attention. The dark-skinned girl looked up just in time to see the Akuma coming for her, barrels ablaze, a determined look upon its agonized face - smoking and marred from its wounds; and then, at the same moment, just as she was despairing for her life, Kira's little cat's cry became a roar. That ethereal sky blue light, the very light that had blinded her before, flashed through the courtyard, lighting up the clouds of smoke and debris.

A scream ripped from Kira's throat, her body thrown back as the Akuma heading for her exploded, chunks of its structure flying amidst a myriad of purple smoke.

The ground was really hard, she thought idly, ears ringing once again. Her body was numb, yet stiff at the same time. A very strange feeling indeed. It was growing dark . . .

Hours, or perhaps minutes, passed by as Kira tried to kept a feeble grasp on consciousness. Looking up blearily, the teenager's unfocused blue eyes took in a large shadow looming over her . . .

. . . were those ears on the shadow's outline?

Chikita?

A rumbling sound greeted her ears, and Kira's befuddled brain tried to process the odd baritone noise. Was that a meow? That certainly didn't _sound_ like a meow. And it was coming from a direction high up rather than at her feet, which was confusing considering her little feline's height.

The young girl blinked, vision returning completely - the large black mass before her slowly cleared, outline becoming less blurry, details revealing themselves -

"Chi-CHIKITA?" all but screeched Kira, flinching back from the giant, furry face prodding her forehead.

The little - no, BIG cat - let out an annoyed sound at the high-pitched noise Kira released, but it reverted to purr when the bruised up girl just stared at her once-upon-a-time kitty aghast. Round, icy blue eyes gazed at her innocently, as if she wasn't the size of a panther with sharp claws and teeth that had just taken out a monster.

"Ch-Chikita . . . you've . . ." Kira swallowed, eyes wide as saucers as Chikita leaned forward again, pressing her large head against Kira's smaller one. "You've grown," finished the teenager exasperated, twitching at the dark pink, sand-paper tongue that assaulted her dirty cheek.

A rumbling purr vibrated in the large cat's chest again, and Kira sighed.

_I've gone bonkers. I've definitely gone bonkers._

"You're not gonna fit on my lap anymore like this."

As if to prove her point wrong, a sudden crushing weight landed on Kira's legs, and the young girl let out an alarmed noise.

"What the - CHIKITA! OWOWOWOW! BAD KITTY! BAD! AGH!"

* * *

They didn't beat the Level Two Akuma to the festival, and two people could only do so much to try and control such a chaotic situation. Link was left to trying to get the panicked festival folk out, whilst Allen tried to keep the porcupine-like monster's attention solely on him, as the creature wasn't going to let go of such a feast as the one presented before it.

The distraction method was going so well too, especially since the newly evolved Akuma had realized it could shapeshift. What was worse, there was no telling what or who was the Akuma, since unlike back in Mater, this particular Dark Matter machine didn't show such signs like being an inverted image.

The white-haired sixteen year-old currently fighting for the entire town of Floraston eyed his surroundings quickly, his cursed eye whirring wildly as he tried to locate the now hiding Akuma. He was just backing himself towards a wall so he couldn't get a bad surprise from behind when the waste basket next to him trembled.

Allen didn't think he'd look at rubbish bins[4] the same way ever again.

Two giant, bear-like paws burst forth, ridiculously large claws extended. The targeted Crown Clown accommodator only had time to stumble out of the way of the sharp reachers, not nearly having enough seconds to plan for the toothy, purple glowing maw that revealed itself next -

The air was ripped painfully from Allen's lungs, rendering him helpless against crying out as he was blasted backwards, tumbling across the cobblestones and crashing to a halt before a particularly pink flower stall on the other side of the street. Some townsfolk cowering behind said stall wailed in terror, beginning to scramble out to flee, flowers flying, and the white-haired exorcist felt panic fill him as the Akuma fired again.

Dodging meant the death of these people!

With a determined shout, Allen snatched up his trailing, glowing cloak and flung it out, ordering Crown Clown to protect. Immediately and just in time, the white cloth flowed out, snapping into shape in midair to form a zig-zag-like shield. The purple Dark Matter beams from the Earl's machine's attack slammed against Crown Clown, and Allen used that moment to scramble up, shout out a quick "Get out of here!" to the townsfolk, and lunge forward, sword at the ready. Sure enough, the moment his cloak relaxed and retreated, the Akuma predictably took that moment to lunge, planning to surprise him.

Determination flared within Allen as he knew he'd finally caught the damn thing. He swung out, his giant Sword of Salvation whistling powerfully in the air - one clean swipe would be enough - no!

The porcupine-like Level Two Akuma stumbled - IT_ STUMBLED_ - and his Sword swept right over it, only slicing off a few spikes.

A certain Destroyer of Time cursed aloud at his bad luck as he skidded to a halt, whirling around to see that the Level Two had face-planted into the cobbles. Not in the mood for being amused at the threatening yet goofy thing, Allen wasted no time in calling out a second attack -

"Clown Belt!"

Glowing white strands shot out from his cloak, whipping through the air, hardening and spiking downwards -

The ground exploded where the porcupine death machine had been, and immediately Allen rolled to the side. Sure enough as his cursed eye has recognized, his opponent had dodged, and the place he'd been moments before was blasted to bits as the Level Two's beam struck the ground. Debris blocked the young exorcist's vision, and his cursed eye whirred wildly as he relied fully on it to peek through the rising clouds of dust. As the ringing in his ears from the blast finally calmed, chunks of broken cobblestone hit the ground around him.

_Thunk!_

_Thunk!_

_Thunk!_

A shadow flitted through the dust! He prepared to lunge -

Bugger!

Allen froze in mid-swing, realizing that _dozens_ of shadows were flitting through the cloud of settling plumes. There were fleeing people all around him - which one was the Akuma?

Heart beating wildly, the cursed boy once again concentrated on his left eye's vision, the world turning solely black and white as he closed his right eye. Shadow after shadow passed by - a fleeing man, a stumbling woman and child, a teenager, shopping bags in hand -

The sound of giant claws against cracked ground resonated through his ears -

Allen didn't turn around fast enough.

Howard Link cursed to himself as he saw his charge fly through the air once again. This close-cut setting filled with people was surely the worst battleground to work with for the cursed exorcist he was supervising - so many fleeing people to protect. Completely disadvantageous.

At the very least, all the plumes of smoke and debris were good at hiding the monster attacking the town. That would make things a tad easier in explaining just what had happened to any media that got curious. The Holy War was still considered a secret war, after all. It would be preferred to stay that way.[5]

"My sister! My sister is hurt!"

Red eyes narrowed, Link flitted quickly through the fleeing people (despite his sore body - crashing through that bakery definitely hadn't left him unscathed), aiming for the sound of the despairing voice, yet making sure not to be too far from his fighting companion. He was supposed to be watching Walker first and foremost, and he stuck to his job very seriously, but that didn't mean he was heartless. He soon reached the source of the noise - a young, chesnut-haired woman clutching desperately to her half-buried sibling. The younger sibling couldn't have been more than twelve, her head struggling to keep above the rubble as her hand gripped feebly to her older sister's arm.

The moment Link came into the crying woman's sight, she called out to him, "Please, sir, help my little sister! She can't get out!"

Link didn't verbally respond, but instead reached forward, beginning to quickly remove rubble. It appeared as if a stall had collapsed on top of the child, as he removed plank after plank of broken, twisted wood. Finally, he reached the particularly large collapsed wooden piece pinning the girl beneath the debris.

"Miss, I'm going to lift this up," informed Link, getting his hands into position under the slab. "It's going to be heavy, so please remove your sister quickly."

Hazel eyes shining with hope, the older sibling excitedly responded, "Yes! I will! You hear that, Carey? We're going to get out - so get ready!"

Little Carey, as the younger sibling was named, simply whimpered quietly. Link tried to ignore the feeling in his gut at the possibility of just what injury this girl could've acquired under such heavy debris. All that mattered now was that she was still alive and needed to get out. Crushed lower body or not. As Link heaved up the piece of wood with a grunt, arms trembling, the thought of Walker crossed his mind. That boy had better not be doing something shady behind his back! He would be in a ton of trouble if he didn't catch it -

"I've got her!"

Link let the slab of wood drop with a loud _crash! _before catching breath he didn't realize he'd lost. It really had been quite heavy!

"Thank you so much, mister!" cried out the older sibling, clutching little Carey to her bosom.

"You're welcome," replied Link, flashing a glance back at where he'd last seen his charge. Was it just him, or had it gotten eerily quiet? "You should take your sister and get to safety," he commented half-mindedly.

"That's a good idea," conceded the oldest sibling with a nervous laugh. "C'mon, Carey - we should make sure Papa's alright!"

And with that, the two siblings ran off. Link couldn't stop himself from watching them leave. For a moment - just a moment - as their silhouettes disappeared into the clouds of dust and debris, he pictured himself and several orphans running through a crowd of people . . . [6]

The blonde man shook his head, chasing away such memories. He needed to concentrate on his task at-hand. Or charge.

Speaking of which, where _was_ Walker?

* * *

[1] If you've watched the anime, you know what an Akuma moving around sounds like. If not, it's sorta like a low whirring noise?

[2] If you don't know who the Fishers are, you ought to revisit the last chapter's omake lD On a side note, anyone I mention multiple times tends to be important in the story at some point, so don't forget them!

[3] Upon getting closer to evolving, or more so on the very edge of doing so, a Level 1 will sometimes portray emotions of sadistic glee, or something of the sort. The easiest example that comes to mind is the first Level Two introduce in the manga; just before it evolved, it grinned (unless that was in the anime?), if I remember correctly.

[4] For the Americans who aren't familiar with the term, rubbish bins are trash cans xD If you go to England, asking where a trash can is will likely earn you a funny look, and then a "Oh, you mean the rubbish bin?" It happened to my pilgrimage group the entire time we were in London!

[5] Something people often seem to forget about how the Holy War is viewed in DGM. It's still considered a relatively "secret" war, one that isn't publicized. Could you imagine what would happen if people found out there were monsters who wore human skin and could pop out at any moment and kill them with glee? That'd be world-wide panic!

[6] Spoiler! It was recently revealed that Link and the Third Exorcists were chummy when they were orphan kids.

* * *

**A / N : **First of all, I'd like to apologize for this incredibly late chapter. Rather than being inspiring, my summer has been a large mix of vacations and distractions, with lots of college preparing on the side. I've found that I actually write better when I'm supposed to be doing school work . . . xD This chapter also took a while because it's quite pivotal in how SOTF continues, and I wanted to take my time on it and double check everything and how I portrayed it. Regardless, I plan to get back on a relatively normal weekly schedule again, if my first days in college go well (I start August 11th orz). Thank you for your patience, and reviews of course! :D

Sorry about the lack of Omake/Blooper this time. I decided it was about time I just uploaded this chapter, since I couldn't think of one on the spot :'D /will make up for it later.

**NaomiTheWingedSerpent** - Ahaaa, yeah, I've read quite a few of the unrealistic OC stories, so I know what ya mean orz. I'm very pleased that I've done well in making Kira's story realistic! "Nail-biter" - Love that description! 8D Thank you so very much! ;u; And thanks for the review~!

**SmileRen** - Here's your update! :D

**Sabet163** - We're all sadists and masochists here with cliffhangers LOL. Glad to hear it! And here's what our "little" feline can do ;D "Kira felt as if her shock had been bitch-slapped by a brick wall and flung out of her skull like a cheating husband from his home." I have no idea what came over me, but I liked that description too xD I'm thrilled to hear that you loved this chapter ;u; Thank you, and thank you for the review~!

**Skittles-Obsessed-Wolf-Girl** - I'm sorry to hear about your bad day D: May things get better for you! And I'm happy the update made things a little better ;u; Amg I'm skittlefied. CHI IS SKITTLEFIED 8D Thank you for the review~! xD

**Panthershade** - Ahhhh, I feel your paaaain -flops- I had AP exams coming up back when you wrote this review :'D I'm happy the update provided entertainment! xD Lolyes. The first Akuma I ever thought up/created. A derpy porcupine-bear-thang xD I tend to create a lot of animal-like Akuma, now that I think about it . . . I'll need to work on that, lol! Oh, hell, yeah. Ya'll are gonna love Chikita, or at least I hope you will, lmao. Glad you prefer the Gaelic name-meaning! No one ever seems to connect to that one orz. Always the Japanese OTL. Lol, and don't worry, Kira's not a family-killer OC xD Though she certainly does have some skeleton's in her closet, or better said, her family's closet! (Or maybe the pile of boxes in the attic . . . ). EPIC? Oh gawd, that's too kind xD Here's the continuation! Thanks for the lovely review~! :D

**TheSteelFlameAlchemist** - LOL HI ALESSIA HOW ARE YOU TODAY -shot- Oh gawd, don't weep, lmao! AND WHATCHU YOU TALKIN' ABOUT. I BET YOUR WRITING ROCKS. Pffffffff, you naughty student, reading my bloopers during class xDDD Lavi? Who's Lavi? I haven't heard of this Lavi - was he in the manga at some point? -shot- HOSHINO BRING HIM BACK GAWD. LOL, YES. No one seems to give enough cred to Link and his sleeve knives xD I think their pretty damn cool! AND YOU KNOW ME, I'M FINE WITH CAPSLOCK. TOTALLY. CAPSLOCK BADGER DON'T GIVE A SHIT. /ROLLING Thanks for the immensely amusing review, Alessia~! xDDD

**B3GIN** - Ahahaha "change." Yeah, things were changed, but certainly not for the better - I'm horrible to my characters D': You'll hear more about Doctor Phillip later though, and hopefully I'll be able to expound on what his part is in this fanfic! Yeaaah, I always planned to explain the bit of how Chikita got to the battle, but I totally forgot in the first version! I was very happy to be able to write it now, haha. Yep! Now that Kira's past is relatively straight in my head, it's much easier for me to reveal aspects of her family history and the mysterious wrapped up in there. I'm happy you liked that line! It came to me on the spur of the moment, and I was quite pleased with it |D Glad it had impact! And as for the hints, just keep your eyes sharp ;D Anything that seems odd or just not right, keep a tab on! Thank you very much for the kind review, B3GIN~!

**Kaite1211** - Good catch! However, Malcolm Leverrier (Lvellie)'s last name isn't Malcolm. I've got quite a few ideas for the reason for Kira's family's last name, but I haven't decided on one yet. Although, I'll give you this: "Malcolm" isn't a Swedish last name. It's Scottish. And Grampy's side of the family is entirely Swedish. Also keep in mind Kira's flashback about Chikita where she saw those family photos! And amg, I think you're one of the first people to actually catch the usual connotation to "explosion/house fire" in DGM, haha. Rather similar to how the Pharmacy went up in flames, no? So was it a fire that killed Kira's mother? Or could it have been an Akuma attack? I'm happy you think so! I'll be trying to push in the POV of the canon characters as much as I can without being messy, haha. I've obviously been very busy, but I'll definitely check out the Equine Exorcist as soon as I can! Thank you very much, and thanks for the review~!

**Papayyyyy** (chapter 3) - Thank God they're not OOC :ming:. LOL, I hadn't really thought about it until I pictured /myself/ waking up after being unconscious and seeing someone in a black cloak xD I always wanted to detail his reaction to Kira that way! And THANK YOU PAPY - I'm glad you picked that up! I was wondering who would catch the "I could never eat that much, Grampy!" line xD Amfg LMAO I love how you pronounce Lavi's hammer's name 8'DDD Thanks for the review, Papy~! :D

**DoingJeanOnTheSide** (chapter 1) - I figured starting out with canon characters would be the way to do it |D I'm glad it worked out, as well as Kira's introduction :D LOL, I think you're the first person to comment on that, lmao. I'm surprised more people didn't think Chikita creeping around to be an Akuma at first xD Yay for surprises 8D Thank you very much for the constructive critique, One~! I look forward to it xD

**DoingJeanOnTheSide** (chapter 2) - LMAO. Poor, socially awkward Kira xD Her analysis of things'll come in handy in the future, I'm sure. And yay for little Kira 8D lolyou'renotafailureIfoundthisreviewthoughtfultoox D

**DoingJeanOnTheSide** (chapter 3) - I was never one for the "POV headings," haha. I never saw real authors do it, so I decided to avoid it in my fanfictions lD Lavi is always entertaining 8D WE NEED MOAR LAVI, HOSHINOOO. Yes, I'm really gonna miss Grampy ;u; -rolls-. Thanks for the review, One~!

**DoingJeanOnTheSide** (chapter 4) - Being a social recluse and all of a sudden having nice people in her house is quite a change for her xD It's no surprise she latched onto them after they were so friendly and not judging her for her skin disease. 'Course, the whole "they'll be leaving soon" bit is always on her mind :ming:. Motherly!Kira~! xD Allen just oozes weirdness, I swear -shot-. "You can really tell that these new people are making her think more than she's used to xD" No kidding!

**Guest** (chapter 1) - ahmaigawdyou'remakingmeblush ;U; Thank you so much! Lavi is hilarious - some people just don't do him justice in writing him xD I really hope we get to see more of him once Hoshino gets back, since she's promised as much. Thanks for the review~!

**Guest** (chapter 2) - LOL, glad you did! xD Thanks for reviewing as well!

**Guest** (chapter 8) - Thank you ;7; UPDATEROO HERE~! Thanks for the review!

**Juliedoo** - a;lskdjf thank you so much amg. I'm eager to see how I go through with it myself lmao. Thanks for the kind review!

**Hidden Depths of the Mind** - Ahaha, yeah, I updated with a warning that I'd be rewriting, but it had been so long I don't think a lot of people caught it lol. Oh my gosh, thank you ;7; I'm happy it is! Haha, thanks for the review~!


	10. Chapter 10

_{ { _**S**ONG **O**F **T**HE **F**OURTEENTH _} }_

**NOTE **: _This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah._

**NEWS** : _Due to past requests and askings for **Allen x Kira fluff**, I decided to try my hand at a one-shot for the two of them, called "Friends Don't Let Friends Freeze." It's a gift for all you awesome readers who really like the two of them, so if you wanna read it, you can find it on my profile :) Reviews are greatly appreciated on it! I may write more of them if it gets good feedback, as well as include more in this fanfiction. __  
_

**DISCLAIMER** : _I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, _are _copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own._

**FEATURE**_ : Thank you to, _**MRS-Mikk, skytower1189, Z0mbieMart, Christmasloot, Victini-Kumi, WickedlyTwisted, Mozi, SeirenTheReader, iamninja159**, and **PaNdAbluez**_ for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!_

* * *

(|Recap|) _for your convenience_

"Ch-Chikita . . . you've . . ." Kira swallowed, eyes wide as saucers as Chikita leaned forward again, pressing her large head against Kira's smaller one. "You've grown," finished the teenager exasperated, twitching at the dark pink, sand-paper tongue that assaulted her dirty cheek.

A rumbling purr vibrated in the large cat's chest again, and Kira sighed.

_I've gone bonkers. I've definitely gone bonkers._

"You're not gonna fit on my lap anymore like this."

As if to prove her point wrong, a sudden crushing weight landed on Kira's legs, and the young girl let out an alarmed noise.

"What the - CHIKITA! OWOWOWOW! BAD KITTY! BAD! AGH!"

And with that, the two siblings ran off. Link couldn't stop himself from watching them leave. For a moment - just a moment - as their silhouettes disappeared into the clouds of dust and debris, he pictured himself and several orphans running through a crowd of people . . .

The blonde man shook his head, chasing away such memories. He needed to concentrate on his task at-hand. Or charge.

Speaking of which, where _was_ Walker?

* * *

[ Chapter 10 ]

_Flee, Freeze, Fight_

"In a fallen world, you can only have peace through strength." (Ronald Reagan)

* * *

After five minutes of struggling, bribing, and amused purring later, Kira was laying flat on her back on the cobbles, absolutely exhausted. She felt as if all the energy from her body had been drained, and her flesh still gave a dull ache at random intervals. Meanwhile, Chikita was sitting rather similarly to a sphinx, her large tail thumping against the earth. Her ears kept swiveling southward, and she'd let out an almost irritated growl every once in a while.

At this particular moment, another deep rumble echoed in her throat. Deciding to finally respond, Kira sighed, rolling her head to the side to look at the large cat.

"It's best if we wait here," she explained yet again. "Allen and Link will look for us where they last saw us, which is in town. And we don't know where they went anyway, so it wouldn't be smart to just go out blindly when we could be wandering in the wrong direction, no?"

. . . did Chikita just snort?

Kira twitched, rolling onto her stomach so as to reach up and poke the cat in the shoulder. "Well, do you have any better ideas, sassy?"

The large animal shifted, getting up and stretching, large claws shining as they extended out into the dirt before returning to her large paws. Chikita then stepped forward to where Kira lay, prodding her in the ribs with a warm and large, grayish purple nose. However, Kira wasn't all too inclined to move. She was quite comfortable on the ground right now, thank you very much. She'd been tossed around like a rag doll earlier, and her body deserved a break!

Unfortunately, her childhood friend didn't seem to think as much.

An agitated growl later and Kira was letting out a string of curses, her cat having grabbed her by the back of her shirt with her overlarge teeth and dragging her through the dust and dirt, heading out of town.

"Dammit, Chikita, this isn't fair! Let goooo!" the exhausted girl cried out, flailing in vain.

"Grrrrr."

"I'm not going! I'm staying here!"

"Grrrrmrroow!"

"_Nej_! Chikita, _I said nej_[1]!"

Chikita, of course, didn't listen. It wasn't long before Kira could only go limp, her muscles protesting, arms burning and tired. She whined idly as her little-cat-gone-big dragged her all the way to the south entrance of Newton-in-Furness. Only once they'd reached the grass overlooking the fields just outside did Chikita let go, allowing Kira's lifted half to plop down into the lush green below.

A moment of silence passed.

Kira didn't move.

Chikita let out a warning growl.

Kira scrambled up.

The young, dark skinned girl scowled, brushing dust and dirt off her ruined clothes. She noted that she was missing a sleeve, and there were tears in her slacks; which, she realized to her discomfort, revealed some of her black-marred skin. Unfortunately, she couldn't do much about it, and no one was around anyway, so she decided to worry about it later.

Casting an eye to her cat, Kira found the black feline looked much better off, just a few streaks of dirt mixing with the midnight shadows of fur. While her dear friend's icy stare was locked somewhere farther off in the distance, Kira's own blue trailed up to the large, white cross upon Chikita's furry chest, slightly grayed from dust.

Innocence.

It was a conclusion hard to process, hard to taste in her thoughts.

Who would've thought that all this time, this cat - this cat who chased chickens into the woods, who would trip down the steps, who would sleep by her side every night, snoring just as loud as her grandfather - was Innocence.

Noticing her young girl's wavering attention, Chikita's tail flung out and whapped the distracted teenager on the shoulder, earning a yelp and a tired, blue-eyed glare. However, Kira found that her large feline was directing her attention. Following her icy gaze, the marred, dark-skinned girl ended up looking across the wheat fields before them. Just on the horizon, a menacing pillar of black rose up from the gold and green, stretching vigorously up into the azure sky and graying fluffs of clouds.

Kira's mind was quite slow right now, admittedly. She stared blankly out at the odd sight before turning to look behind her at her smoldering town, then back out across the fields.

Smoke. That wasn't entirely uncommon.

But wait, that was a pillar of smoke-!

Her eyes widened.

"Floraston! They went to Floraston!"

Floraston was a small town just south of her own town, Newton-in-Furness. It was relatively new, but quite popular because of the area's love for flowers, which grew considerably well despite England's cold and rainy weather. This very love for blooming plants also made Floraston a popular spot for small festivals. In fact, a festival was being held today, if Kira's memory served her correct.

An approving sound left Chikita at Kira's verbal realization, and her long, silvery whiskers twitched, as if amused. At least the brunette now understood where the other humans were, where they could find them and -

"Good! We can just wait here till they get back -"

If Chikita could scowl, she would have. Kira yelped, a large head suddenly butting into the small of her back and pushing her forward.

"Ch-chikita?" she stammered out, looking back at the cat who was currently pushing her forward. "Chikita, stop it! We should stay here! Stop pushing me already! GOD!"

"GrrrmAWR!"

"If you want to go so badly, go!" cried out the dark-skinned teenager. It wasn't as if her going would be of any use. Hell, if anything, she'd only get in the way; and as much as that pissed Kira off and made her want to stamp her feet childishly, she couldn't help but admit the facts. In her condition, she'd be a sitting duck for that porcupine Akuma! Kira grit her teeth, trying to keep the frustrated tears stinging in her eyes at bay. "Leave me here! Just go check on Allen and Link if you must and then come back!"

"GRRRAR!"

"I can't walk that distance, you dunce!" snapped Kira, resorting to insults, now turning around and pushing back against the large feline, albeit unsuccessfully. Her limbs were crying out, marvelously upset at being stressed again, and the young girl was feeling dizzy as the toes of her shoes dug into the dirt with each inch Chikita gained. "Unless you grow bigger and take me there yourself, we're staying RIGHT HERE."

Kira yelped as the heavy weight pressing against her disappeared, and she fell forward, landing right onto Chikita's furry face. The cat's large, icy blue eyes gazed into Kira's own, and for the first time, the bruised up girl felt lost in their gaze.

Intelligence glowed brightly in those eyes.

Thoughts spiraling back into her earlier contemplations, Kira began to feel dizzy again. How could she not have noticed it before? All those years with her little cat, and not once had she taken note of the almost human-like actions of the small creature?

Pain crashed over her like a tidal wave, and Kira cried out, collapsing. She barely heard an agitated snarl leave Chikita's lips as she hit the ground, preparing to curl up like earlier. But to her surprise, just as quickly as the attack had come, it abruptly left. A panting girl stared in shock at her flesh, a dull ache spreading throughout her body before disappearing.

What was wrong with her?

Was her skin disease hurting her skin? After all this time of being dormant? Why now of all times?

Something nudged her face, and Kira looked up, prepared to give a snarky comment to the oh-so-stubborn Chikita. However, that comment never left her lips. Instead, she could only gasp, scrambling up onto her feet to grab her cat by the whiskers.

"Chikita! You're not going to fit in the HOUSE if you keep growing like this!" chastised the young girl.

The look of gloating success in the now tiger-sized creature's eyes flickered out, replaced with agitation. The breath in Kira's lungs fled away as the cat's head impacted with her chest.

"W-would you please stop that?" wheezed Kira, now on her knees.

Needless to say, Kira decided to stop resisting and let Chikita take the lead. After some growling, grunting, and the occasional hiss, she had managed to climb onto the now much bigger cat's back. The huge feline, the moment she was settled, whisked her away through the wheat fields, straight towards the menacing pillar of blackness glaring out from the clear, slowly darkening afternoon horizon. They met no trouble upon leaving—by now all the townspeople had fled and were hiding in the fields opposite them until someone gave the say-so that it was safe. Chikita burst passed the border of the town unbothered, leaving the old buildings behind as she sprinted into the hills.

Long grasses waved lazily in the breeze, and the sun shown down brightly, warming both cat and human. As they raced along, Kira kept her eyes peeled, looking for any signs of Akuma, just in case.

. . . what did Akuma look like again?

Kira sweat-dropped. _Spheres . . . a mutated porcupine . . . okay, I'll just look out for those._

Once decided on this, it wasn't long before the teenager's thoughts went out of direction, becoming quite a mess. As her long, unkept brown hair whipped out behind her, she gripped onto Chikita's neck fur tightly, latched to the large cat's body to avoid the wind threatening to rip her off her friend.

She couldn't deny that she was scared, but it wasn't as much fear for herself anymore. While Kira knew - certainly knew now - that Allen was an Exorcist, and Link appeared to have some ability to fight back, she still feared for her guests . . . her friends.

Kira swallowed, burying her face into the thick black fur beneath her.

That was right. She cared for them like family. These people were no longer simply her guests; they were her friends - these young men that had spent the last week firmly situating themselves into her life.

And now two of them were in danger. They could die, just like Doctor Phillip and the nurses. That thought in of itself left Kira breathless, as if a chain were slowly wrapping around her bruised ribs and tightening, suffocating her. She'd lost her mother and father, and now the pharmacy. She certainly didn't want to lose anyone else. No, she wouldn't allow that to happen.

Chikita gave a particularly long leap, flying through the tall golden grass of the wheat fields. Kira's grip on her friend's neck fur tightened and she clenched her jaw, new determination set in. Even if _she_ couldn't necessarily fight back, she could definitely find some way to help. Plus, Chikita could fight these things!

Kira felt her heart lift at this realization.

Yes, Chikita was here.

Chikita would definitely -

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly at the sight before her. Kira's eyes widened, gaze locked upon their upcoming destination. The pillar of blackness belching forth from the earth looked so much larger up-close, though it appeared to have lessoned some. Daring to peal herself from against Chikita's still fast-moving body, Kira lifted her head, looking directly above herself and following the wind-swept smoke that trailed over them with her blue gaze.

So much of it . . . a large fire? Or multiple fires?

The young girl swallowed thickly, beginning to taste the sharp tang of smoke on the wind, and she lowered her sight from the darkened sky and to the horizon. They were closing in on Floraston. She could see the outline of the light-colored buildings, which was quite reassuring. Though she wasn't close enough to dictate the state of them, just seeing them standing was comfort enough at the moment.

Now the question was, had Allen taken care of the Akuma?

That concern left Kira's mind as the stench of burning rubble smacked her fully in the face. The battered teen immediately buried her face into Chikita's fur, trying to keep her nose and mouth clear of the blown out smoke. A moment later, and Chikita burst into the town of Floraston, skidding around piles of rubble. A collapsed building here - a pile of torn up stalls there. Kira yelped as she was nearly strung up by a stray bit of flowery decor hanging over the streets. Hearing her, Chikita immediately slowed her pace, becoming mindful of the girl she carried and more careful in weaving through the mess.

Before long, the odd duo reached a small pavilion - just in time too, because the rank of smoke had just about overcome Kira. The dark-skinned girl quickly slid off Chikita's back and fell to her knees, holding her mouth and nose, tears pricking her eyes.

THIS was Floraston?

Kira's burning gaze took in the ruined pavilion around her, eyes trailing along shattered stalls and torn up decor. Small fires crackled stubbornly around the remains, some reaching out eagerly for the buildings surrounding the pavilion; and holes of various sizes bulleted the cobblestone below, scattered and leading up to what looked like the remains of a small church steeple.

And she had thought _Newton-in-Furness_ was a wreck.

A low toned meow caught the girl's attention, and Kira turned just in time to see Chikita collapse. Crying out in worry, the brunette immediately dropped to her knees, reaching out to rest her hands on either side of her cat's overgrown head.

"Chikita?! Chikita, what's wrong?!"

All she received was a considerably exhausted look, and then, right before Kira's eyes, Chikita began to shrink. In a mere few seconds and a flash of sky blue later, a familiar little cat lay where the tiger-sized one had originally been, panting and sprawled out on the cobbles.

Shocked and confused, but worried nonethless, Kira picked up her now-normal-and-tiny friend, cradling the exhausted creature in her arms. She became concerned as her fingers brushed through tiny Chikita's matted fur, picking out debris and brushing away dust, but relaxed a little more as she felt the steady rise and fall of the cat's flank.

All this time, Kira had been noting her own exhaustion. She hadn't once thought of Chikita, not while her black cat had grown into a powerful wild cat. The young girl chastised herself for being so quick to assume Chikita was invincible. Even if she _was_ Innocence, her friend was still a living creature, and therefore had limits.

"I'm sorry, Chikita," the battered teenager murmured guiltily, leaning down to plant a kiss on the dozing cat's head.

A weak purr answered the girl. Unfortunately, even in being forgiven, Kira couldn't help but feel dread begin to coil in the pit of her stomach. Warily, the young, now defenseless teen eyed her surroundings.

This place, it didn't look like Floraston. Floraston was supposed to be bright and cheery, smelling of various aromas, not empty and reeking of past chaos. Dying out fires stubbornly licked up the sides of shattered stalls, trailing eagerly for the stone buildings outlying the pavilion, and bullet holes littered the ground, emphasizing the ripped up and stomped on flowers that were scattered everywhere.

And she was alone. Not a single soul was in sight.

Kira tightened her grip on Chikita in her arms, staggering up and turning round and around as she took in everything around herself a second time, just in case.

Coast clear, she paused, evening out her breathing, deciding what to do next.

She had to find Allen and Link. That's why they'd come, after all.

Feeling a little comfort in Chikita's warmth and soft breathing, Kira proceeded to walk unsteadily through the remains of the town and towards the center. Twice she tripped over large chunks of wood, and a couple of times she thought she'd twisted her ankle, but she kept moving anyway, a new drive pushing her forward.

It was such an odd feeling. This sudden need to do something - to grasp onto a purpose in this chaos around her, that being to find Allen and Link. Kira almost felt as if she were acting out some part in one of her books back home, and she actually found herself chuckling tiredly at the thought.

_Hopefully, I won't be that character that becomes a damsel in distress_, she joked internally, automatically labeling Allen and Link the designated "heroes." Or maybe, Lavi would make a surprise entrance, that one character everyone thought they'd left behind, but who had actually followed -

Suddenly, something other than the sound of crackling fires and rocks crumbling caught Kira's attention. Freezing in place, the disheveled teen quickly gave a quick three-sixty look around, determined to find the source of the new disturbance.

Was that a footstep? A boot moving rock?

Kira swallowed the growing lump in her throat and clutched Chikita to her chest tightly, anxiety churning in her stomach.

"Show yourself!" she called out, deciding she'd rather not wait for whoever - or _what_ever - it was to surprise her.

Sharp movement caught the very edge of her peripheral vision - Kira whirled around, immediately pulling up one arm for some sort of defense for herself and Chikita; however, she panicked at the brief sight of a blur coming fast at her and ended up clumsily falling backwards with a cut off screech. Before she knew it, the figure was over her - blonde hair a mess, red eyes sharp, two scarlet spots just barely visible through the dirt-covered face -

Wait-!

"Link?!" Kira yelped, only to choke off as a sharp, golden knife encrusted with dirt was placed at her neck, its cool metal numbing her dark flesh. "What the-?!"

"What is the skin disease that Miss Kira is inflicted with?" demanded the man sharply, pressing his knife a little harder against her throat.

Anger and disbelief overwhelmed the exhausted teenage girl pinned beneath him, and her sky blue eyes went icy as she resisted the urge to snarl. For God's sake! She was tired, her stomach was still churning from fear, anxiety, you name it, AND her head hurt! She was NOT in the mood for this!

"If you do not remove yourself from me this instant, Two-spots, you WILL be sleeping outside for the rest of your stay! WITH Chikita!"

If Link hadn't been a former CROW, he would've flinched at such a considerable threat. Sleeping outside was one thing, but with that damned cat that kept giving him dead mice?[2] He certainly didn't want to deal with that!

"Forgive me, Miss Kira," he spoke strictly, immediately getting up, "but I had to make sure you were not the Akuma."

"W-What?" Kira couldn't manage a more intelligent reply as she was pulled up by a politely offered hand from Link. She checked distractedly on Chikita, who was still curled in her arms, before rubbing at her earlier threatened neck.

"The Akuma," Link repeated, starting to explain as his knives slipped back into his torn up, red sleeves. "The Akuma Allen and I have been battling possesses a most troublesome ability to transform-"

"Allen? Where's Allen? What happened?" blurted out Kira, momentarily forgetting herself as what Link was saying finally caught her attention.

Seemingly unbothered by her interruption (or used to it, she couldn't tell), Link continued, "I was separated from Walker when the Level Two Akuma decided to take advantage of the large human populace celebrating the festival here."

The young girl before him felt as if icy claws had gripped her heart. "The Akuma . . . did this . . . ?" Kira finally choked out, hugging Chikita more tightly to herself as she tried to keep her gaze away from the chaos around them. It had been one thing back in Newton-in-Furness, but this - this was much worse. An entire festival against a small pharmacy. "Why? Why would it . . . I don't . . ."

Images of Newton-in-Furness's injuries flashed through her mind, along with the sound of the screams from the dying man she'd heard before escaping the rubble, and Kira swallowed thickly, trying to keep herself from trembling.

Scary.

This was all so scary.

All caused by a single monster.

So much death, so much lost.

"Akuma are weapons, remember?" reminded Link, his voice just ever so slightly less strict as he recognized his host's distress. "The more they kill, the more experience they gain, and the more powerful - the more deadly - they become. They are nothing more than the Millennium Earl's killing machines."

"Then why do they cry?"

Link paused, looking down at the disheveled, dirt-stained fourteen-year-old girl before him. Her blue eyes, still filled with fear and uncertainty, gazed back at him, almost pleadingly.

"Pardon?"

"The Akuma," clarified Kira, holding Chikita closer to herself as she finally managed to keep her trembling at bay, her eyes still locked with Link's red irises, though not seeing his face. No, she was seeing the agony-torn face of the spherical Akuma that had come at her before Chikita had saved her life. "The Akuma's faces are crying, Link," Kira repeated. "Why are they crying? Why do they look like they're in pain?"

Something flashed in the blonde man's gaze, but Kira didn't recognize it.

"That's a question better asked of Walker," Link finally replied. "Now, if you are quite alright and done with inquiries, I suggest we look for him."

Although perturbed that her question went unanswered, Kira could only give a brisk nod. Right now, finding Allen was more important. They had to keep their priorities straight in this situation. Questions could be answered later.

Willing her legs to move, the dark-skinned girl jogged after Link, who had already started heading off at a brisk pace. There were no words shared between the two as they maneuvered around debris, leaving only the chaos around them to speak in its own language; the tongue of dying fires crackling idly and the occasional crumble of falling rubble crashing to the ground. Sometimes Nature would pitch in, sending through a blessed breeze that swept away some of the stench of the smoke, whistling passed the still standing buildings and stirring up burnt and shredded flower petals and dust.

Once or twice, Link slowed his pace, allowing Kira to catch up (which was something new to the young girl - that is, being slower than someone else; she'd always been proud of her speed . . .). They didn't travel far before they reached the town square - which looked hauntingly like Newton-in-Furness's own town square, though it was hidden under flung stalls and carts instead of a collapsed building.

"This was the center of the festival," explained Link as they passed through. "The Akuma entered through the North side . . ."

Kira didn't need him to finish. She already knew.

Piles of dust were everywhere. But there wasn't just dust. No, here there were some bodies, and that made Kira shake more than before. Those who hadn't fallen to the Akuma's bullets had been crushed by falling stalls, trampled by others, and - and she didn't want to think what else.

Bile rose in her throat as yet another trickle of wind rushed through, this time picking up dust rather than ripped up flower petals. Dust that was the only remains of the people who had died at the Akuma's hands . .

"There will be time for mourning later."

Kira's gaze flitted back to Link, whom she found to be looking at her, his scarlet gaze steady despite how clearly bruised up and aching his body was - despite how much horrors were around them.

"Right now, focus on the living."

Focus on the living. Right.

Kira took a deep breath and nodded, assuring the older man she had recovered herself enough to keep moving. Accepting the gesture, Link continued forward.

The two humans and one exhausted cat passed by a couple more buildings, having left the square; and it was then that Kira began to pick up faint sounds, almost like - like crashing?

Immediately, an image of Allen surrounded by a brilliant white cloak flashed through Kira's mind, and adrenaline poured into her veins.

"Link, I think -!"

She had barely gotten the words out and Link had already started sprinting. Kira broke into a fast run of her own, trying her darndest to keep up with the older man.

_If those sounds are crashes, that can only mean that Allen hasn't defeated the Akuma_! she concluded, keeping her eyes locked on Link's back. The porcupine Akuma could still be alive and -

Kira skidded to a halt.

_It could still be alive_.

* * *

"This is not my day!" choked out the Black Order's prophesied Destroyer of Time, trying to rid his mouth of the taste of dust and dirt that assaulted his tongue and throat. Allen hadn't had this much trouble with a Level Two since his Innocence had evolved, and it was incredibly frustrating; not to mention it was a harsh reminder that Akuma, regardless of their lower levels, could still be dangerous to experienced exorcists like himself. Of course, the battle grounds here, to be blunt, sucked. His Sword of Salvation was quite large, and therefore frustrating to use in these narrow streets that the Akuma had backed into. He would use his Edge End, but he feared accidentally running into a civilian, and the safety of humans took priority over his discomforts.

At the very least, the white-haired exorcist had slowed the damn thing down. While it was stupidly fast, it still could only keep up for so long before becoming tired. Between this and the limb Allen had managed to hack off, Mr (or Miss?) Porcupine Akuma wasn't very happy at the moment, and certainly not cackling like before.

Allen jerked back as a large shape lunged at him through the clouds of rubble dust, quickly raising his sword. He froze, however, as it blinked out of sight right before his face. Surprised and disconcerted, the Crown Clown Accommodator stared out around him, his cursed eye whirring wildly as he tried to locate the Level Two.

This was a new move. It hadn't done this before. Allen's thoughts raced as he tried to analyze the Akuma's next move based on the information he'd gathered so far.

Rubbish bins, wood, and people. Those seemed to be the objects the Level Two most chose to turn into, the boy reminded himself, focusing on said items. He was just beginning to feel the sweat trickling down his forehead when a familiar, horrific, mummified soul caught his left eye's attention. Without hesitation, the snowy haired exorcist lunged with a cry, slashing his sword down upon a seemingly innocent looking plank of wood.

A shriek assaulted his ears, and the piece of wood he'd cut in half trembled violently before rapidly writhing back into the shape of the Akuma, albeit missing a leg to go with it's nub of a right arm. Alarmed by it's fast morphing, Allen summoned his Clown Belts, using them to fling himself backwards just in time to dodge snapping teeth -

"OOF!"

The air left the cursed teen's lungs as he collided with something firm but soft, and he tumbled to the ground with it. Coughing as his lungs stung with a new vigor, Allen scrambled up, whirling around to confront the object of impact, only to find a particularly jagged, golden blade pointed between his eyes.

"O-oh, hello there, Link," Allen stammered out, holding up his hands in surrender.

The blond man was panting harshly, holding his ribs gingerly with his left hand, gloves long gone. While Allen didn't see blood, he could figure pretty easily that his Supervisor had likely injured some ribs when he'd been tossed into that wood building in Newton-in-Furness.

"I would like to assume," started Link firmly, catching the boy's attention,"that you've defeated that damn Akuma by now, Walker."

Allen felt himself sweat a bit as the blade wasn't removed from its threatening position in his face.

"W-Well, about that-"

"_GO_**D D**AM**N** _EXO_**RCI**ST!"

"-no; no, I haven't."

A clearly pissed off look flashed across Link's usually composed features, and the cursed exorcist at the man's weapon's tip laughed nervously. However, their little episode didn't last long, as a dark shape burst forth from the clouds of dust. Cursed eye squealing, Allen immediately yelled out for Crown Clown, and the cloak billowed out obediently, shielding him and the Central officer next to him from the attacking Dark Matter weapon -

Nothing impacted.

Allen and Link tentatively looked over Crown Clown's shape as the cloak floated gently, almost lazily back down. However, they found nothing more than the clouds of dust that still didn't seem to want to settle; and a stall which promptly decided to collapse at that moment, echoing in the sudden quiet that gripped the narrow street.

"Where did it . . . ?"

"It appears to have fled."

Exorcist and Inspector looked to each other, silver eyes meeting red, equally dumbfounded. However, barely a second passed before realization seemed to dawn on the former CROW of the duo. His scarlet eyes widened, and a rather impolite word broke from his lips.

"Miss Kira!"

* * *

Link's figure disappeared into the smoke and dust ahead, and all she could do was stare, heart pounding harshly against her ribs.

Alive - that Akuma that attacked her in Newton-in-Furness could still be alive -

Sharp teeth - an open maw lunging for her -

"**Lit**tle _gii_**ii**rl~!"

Fear had frozen her limbs, planting her firmly in place, and Kira tried vainly to recover her breathing again, warm tears trickling down her dirt smudged face for the second time that day.

"Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic - don'tpanicdon'tpanic-"

The shaking teenager leaned against the building nearest her as she held a dirty hand to her face, willing herself to regain control.

"Damnit, get a hold of yourself!" Kira whispered harshly, moving to desperately press her face into Chikita's warm fur. The small creature only mewled weakly, unable to comfort her in her state.

What could she do? Run out there with no means of defense? Chikita was out of action, and Kira certainly couldn't do a damn thing against a killing machine. No, she was at a complete disadvantage here - she would only get in the way - and that _monster_ -

A distant crash echoed through the narrow street, and the disheveled teen gasped, staggering some in her suprise. By the time she recovered her balance, all had gone silent. So silent, in fact, that she could hear her fluttering heart and her panicked breathing.

As the ominous quiet continued, Kira pressed her shoulder against the wall next to her, straining her hearing and eyesight as the realization of her predicament dawned on her.

She was all by herself. All alone. Was she safer here? Should she have followed Link after all?

Questions buzzing through her head like angry bees, the dark-skinned girl swallowed thickly, deciding sporadically on a course of action.

Kira dared to break the quiet.

"Link?"

Despite her voice being barely a whisper, it seemed to cut sharply through the silence of the narrow street like a shout. She flinched at this, but couldn't resist trying again, now longing for a response more than anything.

"Allen? Anyone?"

It was at that moment that movement caught her eye, and a shape turned round the very corner Link had disappeared around in the dust clouds. Kira prepared herself to run, absolutely terrified at the thought that it may just be the Akuma, but paused as she realized the shape was human in form.

Sure enough, as it walked closer, footsteps thumping lightly against the cobbles, figure becoming more and more distinct, Kira recognized a mess of white hair, soon visually accompanied by a glowing ivory cloak, shining black claw, and scarlet curse mark.

"Allen!" she exclaimed, nearly losing her voice in her relief. The bruised up teenager stepped forward, only to go stiff as Chikita stirred in her arms, letting out a faint hiss in warning. "Chikita?"

Allen had cleared the dust clouds now, walking forward confidently through the narrow street and a smile flashing across his pale, blood and dirt-smudged face.

"Kira? Is that you?"

Chikita was twitching, another growl leaving her throat as her jet black fur stood on end, and Kira felt the slightest prick of the little cat's claws unsheathing. However, the exhausted animal was too weak to move, and the girl holding her stroked her small furry head distractedly, trying to figure out why her friend was suddenly aggressive, all whilst keeping her eyes on her guest's approaching shape.

"Allen?" replied Kira uncertainly. She found herself looking into stormy gray eyes from a distance . . . what was wrong with them?

Anxiety trickled through her limbs.

Yes, something was wrong. His eyes weren't right. His smile wasn't welcoming either. Almost - almost mocking -

He was still walking closer.

"I'm glad you are alright, Kira," spoke Allen. "I was quite worried when we lost sight of you."

This wasn't right. No - where was Link? Hadn't he run ahead? Why did she feel vulnerable - threatened?

The white-cloaked teenager was only a measly rooms-length away from her now. Kira could feel sweat trickle down between her shoulder blades.

"Who are you?" she demanded, finally mustering up some strength, taking a careful step back.

The figure before her paused, tilting his head slightly as if in confusion.

"It's me, Allen," he stated easily, almost as if amused. "Are you alright, Kira? You look like you've taken quite the beating . . . did you hit your head?"

_Well, yeah, I sorta did - no!_

Kira shook her head, trying to refocus, concentrating on trying to analyze what was off.

It didn't take long to figure it out.

The beat up girl's blood ran cold, eyes widening as she finally observed Allen's injuries clearly.

His blood was black. Streams of dark liquid trickling poisonously down his right arm and the holes in his left pants leg. The ground sizzled with every drop of it, and black stars slowly faded into existence upon the cobbles.

Link's earlier words flashed through her mind, and finally recognizing her situation, Kira clenched her teeth and took a steadying breath, ignoring the jittery feeling in her limbs.

"Stop playing with me," she said, finally managing to keep her voice steady. "I know you're not Allen, Akuma!"

Stormy gray eyes flashed, and Kira had no time to react. Strong hands had her by the throat, slamming her body into the side of the dust-coated building she had been leaning against before. Chikita was flung from her arms and skidded into the dirt farther off, making a faint yowling sound as she hit the ground. But she was too weak to make a stand and could only lay there, crying out faintly as her human was pinned down.

Meanwhile, the oh-so-familiar face of Allen was only inches from Kira's own as her body was lifted weightlessly from the ground, still pressed painfully against the brick behind her.

"Well, aren't you the smart ass," crackled the Akuma with Allen's voice, a sneer twisting his features as his eyes glared into hers. "But I enjoy killing smart asses!"

All she could do was gurgle. Which wasn't a very nice sound.

"_And a_**fter** yo_u and _th_ose stu_**pid ex**_orcis_ts _are de_ad, the **Earl-s**ama _wi_ll **rewa**rd _me f_or **brin**_gin_**g ba**ck _tha__t stu_pid **lit**tle _furb_all! **I w**in th_is_ **figh**t!"

To be perfectly honest, the moment she'd been grabbed, Kira had already come to terms that she wouldn't be able to get out of this. All fear had been abandoned for mere acceptance.

But when those words left the monster's lips, rage burned brightly in her gut, fueled by all her frustrations, pulling her out from her quickly fading consciousness.

Gathering the last of what was in her mouth, Kira summoned her remaining strength and spat directly into the fake sneering Allen's glowering face.

Immediately, an enraged snarl left the boy's lips, and anger distorted his face as one hand went to wipe off the spittle (quite unsuccessfully, since it was the clawed one - this Akuma clearly wasn't the brighest). The grip on her throat loosened just ever so slightly, and Kira jerked violently, aiming to get out of his clutches. However, her efforts were in vain, as the remaining hand on her throat was stronger than iron, palm wide and crushing her neck into the wall.

"_Wh_**y yo**u lit_tle-_!"

Kira didn't hear the rest. His grip had tightened beyond vice-like now, obviously intending to crush her wind pipe. All she could do was gasp, feebly clawing at his arm, her vision slipping rapidly away as she used the last of her strength to struggle in vain.

She was going to be choked to death, and by a copy of the very boy who had pulled her from the shell of her cloak. It almost made her grin at how damn ironic it all was, even as her thoughts began to fade.

Well, at least the last thing she saw wouldn't be an ugly ass porcupine.

Her eyes rolled back, body becoming heavy, and darkness approaching -

_No matter how many prayers,_

_Are returned to the earth,_

_I shall continue to pray,_

_Please give this child love -_

Warmth trickled into her numbing body, spreading throughout her like a bird unfolding its wings, and a flash of light entered her fading vision.

Allen.

_Szzhheeee!_

Sight gradually sharpening back into focus, a bruised up and battered Kira watched with dazed blue eyes as the twisted face of the faker choking her blanched, shock frozen in his dilated eyes. A blackish blood trickled down from his lips, coming out in a spurt as he coughed.

"**Dam**n . . . _ex_or**c**_ist_ . . ." the Akuma gurgled out.

"Let your soul be saved, pitiful Akuma," replied a breathless voice.

The Level Two shivered once, then the hand crushing Kira's throat dissolved into dust, trickling down to the ground with a soft whispering sound.

The minute the pressure was released from her neck, Kira fell back on her feet, staggered, and gasped, breathing in large gulps of air - sweet, sweet air! A strong but gentle hand gripped her shoulder, keeping her upright and steady as she coughed out her lungs, throat stinging something awful.

It was only once her eyes opened after her fit was over that she realized she was staring at a sword.

A big ass, shiny sword.

Kira froze, staring at it blankly, still leaned over. It looked oddly familiar. Very familiar, in fact.

And.

It was impaling her.

Before her rattled brain could decide on how best to react, Allen's voice - the real Allen's voice, thank God! - spoke up quickly, "Sorry about that, Kira! Don't worry, my sword only harms evil."

Kira's dazed blue eyes looked up from the sword to focus on Allen, who was standing before her, having removed his hand from her shoulder once he'd been sure she was steady. An apologetic, sheepish smile was stretched across his face, which was quite the mix taking in his messy appearance; red-trimmed, black uniform scuffed and dirty, and glowing cloak spattered with Akuma blood and dust. Even through the grime, Kira noticed half-mindedly that the ornate, masquerade mask at the boy's throat was shining just as clean and bright as ever next to the fluff of his hood.

"I'm going to, uh, remove it now so . . . so don't freak out, okay?" said Allen, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Uhm. Sure . ." was Kira's intelligent response, too stunned to really process anything at the moment. She watched stupidly as Allen gripped the golden hilt of the huge sword with his gloved right hand, pulling it from the wall behind her and from her body without even a tingle of feeling, and without any effort, despite it's size. The silvery-white surface of the blade glittered in the afternoon sun that peeked through the clouds of smoke above as Allen lowered the weapon, catching Kira's dazed attention.

Only one thought popped into the still stunned girl's mind, which inevitably left her lips:

"Nice sword . . ."

Allen blinked, as if surprised by her rather calm reaction, before grinning, unable to help himself. He laughed, clearly amused. "I suppose it is."

If Kira weren't still in shock and didn't know any better, her cursed guests's mask seemed to shift at his neck, eyes warping in a way that almost seemed to be smiling. However, before she could take a closer look, a voice echoed through the narrow street -

"Miss Kira!"

Both teenagers jumped, turning simultaneously, one brandishing his weapon out of instinct. However, both relaxed as Link's familiar form appeared from the dust, staggering out of the very same direction the Akuma had come from, and likely Allen as well. The moment the blonde man reached them, hair awry and falling out of his braid, he paused, caught his breath, straightened his stance, and turned to Kira, admirably recovered in composure.

"Are you alright, Miss Kira?"

Kira blinked dumbly. "Er," she paused, looking down at herself. Torn up clothes, left leg bruising, a few cuts here and there. She was definitely a mess, but otherwise unscathed. "I think so?" she finally responded.

"Good," accepted Link, turning to the white cloaked boy next to her, his voice immediately changing in tone. "Now, Walker-"

Kira's brow twitched at the chastising sound of the older man's speech.

"- I hope you have apologized appropriately for impaling Miss Kira with your Sword of Salvation! Such disregard for the possible psychological consequences of such an action- have you so quickly forgotten Timothy Hearst's reaction? Surely-"

Kira watched in disbelief as Allen grinned sheepishly, holding up his hand and sword in front of him as if to ward off the onslaught of Link's critique of his actions. While the cursed boy seemed unperturbed, Kira had finally recovered herself, shock slowly fading away - but her patience followed quickly after it.

"I really don't think Allen has anything to apologize for, Link," she snipped, cutting the blonde man off mid-speech, to which he reacted to by looking at her in barely concealed surprise. "After all, he obviously knew it wouldn't hurt me, and he saved my life!" she added in finality, crossing her arms, going on a roll as she turned the tables of who was chastising who. "And I have to say, I'm getting rather tired of - Oh, Allen! What happened to your left arm?" exclaimed the dark-skinned girl, totally losing focus.

Allen, who had been watching her outburst like a rabbit watching two wolves fighting over it, jumped at suddenly being addressed. Regaining himself, he blinked and looked to the left stub of his arm where black markings surrounded it, along with a white cross in the middle where the missing limb should of been.

"Oh, this?" the white-haired teen gave a small chuckle, recognizing why Kira was so concerned. "Don't worry, my left arm is Innocence, remember?"

Blue eyes widening, Kira watched with a mixture of awe and curiosity as Allen placed the tip of his giant weapon to the socket of everyone's attention. With a flash, the shining sword seemed to melt into hexagons, melding into the socket and slowly reforming into Allen's missing hard, black left arm. Once finished, the scarred boy clenched and unclenched his segmented left fist, then rolled his shoulder for good measure.

"All good," he affirmed, looking back at Kira brightly.

Would this day get any weirder?

"We should probably head back. Surely Lavi and your grandfather have noticed the smoke in the sky," added Allen. "They'll be worried."

"Ah, right- OH!" Kira exclaimed suddenly, whirling around. "Oh God, Chikita! Chikita?!"

The snowy haired Crown Clown Accommodator moved quickly; Link wasn't as lucky though. Kira, too panicked and focused on finding her cat, thudded right into him. The blonde man staggered a bit in shock before quickly regathering himself, ignoring Allen's snickering as he brushed off his clothes with a sniff.

Kira, meanwhile, had practically dove for the spot where Chikita had fallen when the Akuma had attacked them.

"Oh, Chikita! Chikita, are you alright?!"

The little cat's ear twitched, and she lifted her small head from the cobbles to mewl at the worried girl fretting over her, still too tired to really get up and move around. If Kira had been a little clearer in the head, she would've recognized the agitated twitching of Chikita's tail and the narrowed amber eyes directed at her.

Oblivious to these signs and letting out a sound of relief, Kira immediately picked up the exhausted feline and dusted her off, swiping away dirt from her midnight-colored fur. However, the brunette soon found out that she had too quickly assumed she'd been forgiven for briefly forgetting her small cat. The moment she finished her check up and had pulled the creature to her chest again, an appropriate opening presented itself, and Chikita happily took it.

A sharp nip assaulted Kira's hand, and the attacked girl yelped, startled.

"O-oi!"

"Grrrrr!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" exclaimed Kira, now holding a rather agitated Chikita away from her body, trying to avoid the onslaught of sharp teeth. "I was a little distracted, ya know!"

"Grrreow!"

"I had a SWORD in my gut! What would you expect me to do?!"

"GRMEOW!"

"I said I was sorry! Damnit, Chikita, stop biting me!"

As the girl continued to try and reason with her irate kitty, a certain former CROW and prophesied Destroyer of Time could only look on, both perplexed and amused.

It was going to be a _long_ walk back to Grampy Malcolm's house.

* * *

[SOTF BLOOPER 5]

Wait-!

"Link?!" Kira yelped, only to choke off as a sharp, golden knife encrusted with dirt was placed at her neck, its cool metal numbing her dark flesh. "What the-?!"

"Ducks say quack, fish goes blub; And the seal goes ow ow ow; But there's one sound - That no one knows. What does the fox say?" demanded the man sharply, pressing his knife a little harder against her throat.

"EEEH?!"

_Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding_

_Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow_

_Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho_

_Tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoff!_

_(If you don't get the reference, look up "What Does the Fox Say" on Youtube RIGHT NOW. IT IS HILARIOUS). _

* * *

[1] "_Nej_" means "no" in Swedish, pronounced like a horse's "neigh."

[2] In a past Omake, Chikita decided to reward Link's excellent cooking by giving him a mouse. As expected, the man refused, and well, Chikita wasn't very happy about it . . . xD

* I highly suggest looking up images of what Akuma look like to see their faces. It really is quite depressing, once you start to think about it.

* * *

**A / N** : I have tried quite adamantly to stress the affect war has on one's mental state and portray a soldier's view, or in this case, an experienced Order officer's view, as accurately as I can. I often feel like not enough people pay enough attention to just /what/ exorcists have to go through, what feelings they push aside, and what people that get involved with them end up having to experience. I hope I did it justice here.

Anyway, this chapter about killed me. I was determined not to stretch the action to more than 2 chapters though, so here you are, haha. One or two more chapters to go, and a new arc will begin! Can you guess what that'll entail? ;D

Also, feel free to ask questions! I love hearing ya'll's theories and thoughts on what's happened so far, and what you think may happen. It truly motivates me beyond words :D For instance, for those of you who haven't read the old SOTF, what do you think Kira's Innocence is?

Now that I've settled into college, you can expect weekly updates to be back! Though they'll likely be late and at midnight, lmao. But that's only because I spend an entire day editing and rereading before I post every chapter -shot-

Many hugs and happy tears to those who reviewed! **I would also love to hear some feedback from my silent readers, if ya'll wouldn't mind. Even a few words are enough :)**

_Please also remember to check out my mild Allen x Kira one-shot, Friends Don't Let Friends, here on this site!_

**99terminater** - *SCREAMS WITH YOU* -shot- Ahahaha, I'm glad you think Chikita's a bad ass! I was really excited about revealing her this chapter 8D LOL, I honestly am not familiar at all with Beta-Readers or Beta-Reading itself. I was supposed to BR for someone a long, long while back, but it just never happened (and I had no idea wtf I was doing lmao). Ohohoho, I am an epic procrastinator and lazy ass. Summer kicked me in the ass with laziness xD I can totally relate to having lots of stuff to finish too; just take a peek at my to-do list on my profile on deviantART! And that's not even all of it! (amg do want to see plz show me this SOTF fan art so I can worship it regardless of if it's a WIP have all my love yes -shot- ). I liek crying under mah blankyyy. It's a comfortable place to do so and just curl up or wrap myself up like a caterpillar and make weird noises whereamIgoingwiththisidk. (LOLTRUE. Curly's a whole other being xD). Thanks for the lovely review~!

**vaskeemi** - here ya go :)

**rainbowrunner01** - I love rainbows. So I love your username. Just sayin'. Thank _you_ for reviewing! :D I'm sorry for the wait orz. And amg you have no idea how much that just made my day. Thank you so much for the compliment, and the kind review ;u;

**XxAvengingAngelxX** - I'm SO glad you reviewed! :D I'm sorry about the long wait; Chi gets so easily distracted she can't help herself orz. Technically, this is an OC x Allen fanfiction; however, I'm not one to speed into the fluff and luff and . . . stuff. It'll certainly be friendship, mentor/comrade, etc, before anything else. I prefer realistic relationships over the "LET'S HAVE SMEX NAOW" in the first five chapters of a fanfic, lmao. Buuuut, I did promise more fluff in this version of SOTF, so maybe I'll sneak in some cute scenes early. ;P Oh my gosh xD; Well, your efforts were certainly not in vain! You have made me more than happy with your nice review :D LOL, have a DGM reminder biatch slap -shot-. Thank you very much for the well wishes, and thank you for the review!

**Kaite1211** - That totally makes sense so much that I'm rolling happily at your compliment amg. Perhaps it was Chikita, who can know for sure? ;D You've got some great brainstorming going there, keep around that direction! Also remember the pain Kira experienced and Chikita's reactions towards it. It'll become important in later chapters! Grampy is Kira's paternal grandfather (Swedish). Kira's mother was British/Cherokee. (It gets a little confusing, lol). I like thinking. Thinking is good yosh 8D Thank you, and thanks for the thoughtful review!

**Christmasloot **- Oh gosh, I know that feeling, haha. I was a little slow with this update, but I can assure you I'm back on weekly schedule now! I'm so very happy you've enjoyed SOTF so far! Thank you, and thank you for the review!

**Z0mbiMart** - zomgyourpenname. dolike. Thank you! I hope I can deliver for you! Thanks for the review~!

**Sabet163 **- I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter! Ahaha, true, true. Thankfully, college has provided me more free time to write, which is quite nice :) Thank you for the reviews!

**skytower1189 **- Oh gosh, thank you so much! I'm not too fond of the original, but I'm flattered you think both are amazing, haha xD Thanks for the review~!

**Panthershade **- YES! A REVIEW FROM YOU! xD I'm happy that you're happy, haha. Oh, wow, what irony! LOL, well, Kira's in a bit of "shock" mode at the moment, and when in shock, she gets blunt. Lots of stuff happening in rapid succession! Yes, I agree. It's probably because animal-like Akuma and monsters are more easily pictured, and it's something we can understand better, haha. Though I suppose, that makes Akuma that we can't easily picture or understand in simplistic terms more uncanny? I'm pretty familiar with the "Loo," but I only learned about "Tellie" from Harry Potter, LOL. Anyway, thanks for the review~!

**Trance20666** - That's alright! Yes, the building didn't fall on Kira in the initial fanfiction. There are quite a few things I've added and changed in this rewrite :) I'm glad you think I'm improving! The ponytail, Third Exorcist that you're speaking of is Kanda, yes xD I'm hoping to include more of him in this version, since I'm more comfortable writing from his perspective and character. He only appeared once or twice in the original fanfic while being mentioned more often than anything, but he'll be appearing more this time around. Thank you very much for the compliments, and thanks for reviewing!

**SasuSakuxRoyAi** - Oh gosh, I'm glad you are! xD Ahaha, yes, I can relate. It's rather hard to find AllenxOC, let alone anyCanonxOC, fanfics that aren't primarily sexual or written well these days. There are still some though! I know I ran across a rather marvelous ReaderxAllen fanfic the other day on deviantART. I'm flattered that you think SOTF is amazing ohgosh. That really means a lot! Here's your update, and thank you for the lovely review!

**Dana** - Thank _you_ for reviewing! Her skin disease connected to her Innocence? Maybe, maybe not. Ya'll will find out soon enough ;D Ahaha, that's good! I like surprising people xD Thanks for the review!


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